F 909 
.B94 
^opy 1 



F 9ki9 
.B94 
Copy 1 




MANY DRINKS ARE STIMULATING 

Ghirardelli's 
Ground Chocolate 

is IX\'l(i()l\'.\TIX(i. A S'I'I .M ll-.\\"'P lii'nccs \(iii up t'dr a sliin-t piM-iinl .-iiul thru i-c-Mciinii srts in 
A sliiimlanl is injiii-idiis l(i heallli. i'liil wlicii you arc imiL'-oraK'tl you never siitTc-r Troiu any si'i-idus 
liafuihil crt'eets aflci-wai'ds. 



GHIRARDELLI S GROUND 
CHOCOLATE 

is a st-ii'nl ilic lilciulin^;' nf the cocua licaii 
and thi' Iics1 uradi' (if sui,''ar. pciwdercd ver\' 
line. A drlicidus llavcu- and dain1\' aniniM 
will ariiusi- yiiur a|i]ic'lili> and pli'ase ynii 




GHIRARDELLI S GROUND 
CHOCOLATE 

is iiiadi' in a niiniite \\i:li hut milk. !-^cdd 
n]]]y in lii'Vini'l ii-all\' sealrd tills. 



THE D. GHIRARDELLI CO., San Erancisco 



ALASKA is a lai'i;i' IriTifdry and iloctcn's an' iidt always easy to i-i-ar-li. Iji'ssi'M llir idiaiii'e df nrrd- 
iiiir im-diral atti'Utldu liy i-.xcrcisinii' r;irr in tin- sclrrtidii of xnni' r<idd. 

.\LL sail is not iinri' liy any un'ans. .Many of tlie iuipuriliL's are dannrrous to \uiir health. 



R. S. V. P. 'sALT IS inad<' from the larizesl lied of \lni-k Salt in the wdrld. and. 
Ii\' the use df distilled water, the salt is made as pure as salt ean lie. and — it eoiiie-i 
to yon in the driu'inal sealed lundfa.ffe. 

KELLEY-CLARKE CO., Sales Agents 

SEATTLE, WASH. 





HE Valdez - Fairbanks Trail 



The Story of a Great Highway — 

The Tanana Valley- Valdez, the 

Gateway to an Empire — A Guide 

for the Alaska Traveler 



DEDICATED TO THE ALASKA ROAD COMMISSION 



FIRST ANNUAL 
PRICE, ONE DOLLAR 



V\^ 



Compiled by HALLOCK C. I5UNDY 
Issued by The Alaska Publishing Company, Seattle 



C-n''i'''' ■,'<!!'>■,'•! H'lll"' <■ Kundr 




>^X ,v 



THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 




Boats for Service 



SHALLOW 
DRAFT 
RIVER 
BOATS, 

Specially adapted 

for rapid shallow 

streams. 

The 

Prospector's 

Friend. 

SEE OUR 
DORIES, 
16x25 ft. 

FAST 
RUNABOUTS 

18 ft., 12 Miles 
and 

25 ft., 18 Miles 
Per Hour. 

TUG BOATS. 

MARINE and 

STATIONARY 

ENGINES, 

2 and 4 Cycle 
Type. 

DOAK 

HEAVY 

DUTY 

MARINE 

ENGINES 

For Hardest of 

Service. 

Large Stock of 
LAUNCH 
SUPPLIES and 
BOAT 
FITTINGS. 




Bacine Boat & Auto Co. 



'>32 FIRST A\'E. SOUTH 



SEATTLE, WASH. 



/ 




i lTHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSmiL 












SF^RING BEDS BATH BAR GENERAL MERCHANDISE 

Wortman's Koadhouse 

P, MAtiXUSON, l'i-.>p. 

Accommodations for 100 People. ,rrT ti.i ^-n-.y-wT»r »t 4 t -f^-t~> r^ 
Stables for 100 Head of Horses. -'0 MILES FROJNI \ ALDEZ 

Do" Houses. -^f ""-' ^""' "f ''^^ Summit 





Pile Driver Roadhouse 

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT 


1 




r 




Accommodations for 35 People. 
Private Rooms for Ladies. 
Excellent Dining Room Service. 
Can Stable 48 Head of Horses. 
Hot and Cold Water in Stables. 
Warm Building for Campers. 




|| J| \\=D\ |l 1| 


II. A 


Hates &4.00 per Day 

. HAI)LKV.»^J()II\ M()K( 

Props. 


[;an 



BYLER'S 



First Stage Station from Fairbanks' 



Twenty Miles from Town 



COMFORT 



87 




ft 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 





THE NUGGET JEWELRY HOUSE 



OF THE NORTH 



J . L . SALE 



lieadiu'!' Jeweler 



FAIJ{J}AXKS 



xVLASKA 



The Horseshoe 

First and Cushman 


^ 


t 

\ 

^1 ^" Hf ^ 


THE lIor.SESHOE CORNER 

HOYT S KELLY 

FAIRBANKS ALASKA 



ss 



^ 




Vashon College and 
Academy 

BUIiTON, WASHINGTON 

A Boarding School on Puget Sound, between Se- 
attle and Tacoma. Lower School, Academic, Music 
and Commercial Departments. For Boys, Young 
Men and \'oung Women. Students may enter at any 
time. Military Training and Discipline. Write for 
catalogue. 

W. G. PARKES, Pres. 

To visit the school take steamer at N. P. Dock, 
Tacoma 



TANAN-fl 




\\'rli«*(fr, I. a \ frdsul, Jimn cle Fuca C'lgars 
Old ltiirlM-(> HoiirlHiii, Mt. Vernon Kye 

The Tancina Saloon 



Catu ill Connecliun 

T.OUENTZlilN & POZ. Proprietois 
A riace to 3Ieet Yoiir Fricnils 

iMioiU' Nn. (J FAIRBANKS 



^ 



I F9D9 



xr 




ISIiANDAIiZ: iMiiti.if.s civei- sevi n liundred 
rtc-ret; will! \vat(n-fr«i':i on three landlocked 
liarbors at the south t-'i'i of Lopez Island, one 

'tf the t'ainons San Juan *:i't>'ip 




RUDYARD KIPLING SAYS: "VICTORIA HAS THE FINEST 
CLIMATE IN THE WORLD." 



on American soil, due east of Victoria, has the 
same marvelous climate. Warm winters, cool 
summers, perpetual spring, glorious scenery, 
health in every breath. 



THE SEATTLE "POST-INTELLIGENCER" said, editorially; 
'The site is ideal. It has all the natural facilities of water, beach 
11 nd woodlands." 

Tracts Are Selling Rapidly. 
Buy Now. Pay $5.00 Monthly, If You Wish. 



Islandale is au Ideal lioiue foi 
children. No dangerous animals, 
no poisonous snakes. 

ISIiANSAIiE lias nearly three 
miles ol shore front reserved for 
the common use of all land own- 
ers.. 

You can hunt the world over 
without finding a better climate, 
finer fruits, more fertile soil or a 
more beautiful place for a homf 
or camp. Ask for post cards, 

LOPEZ IMPROVEIVIENT CO., 

OWNERS, 

217 Central Bldg-., Seattle, VTash. 



Health.Profit 
Pleasurc.sce 
-r2lnoT Co 




HOTEL BUTLER 

First Glass, but Moderate 



ALASKAN 

Headquarters 



COR. SECOND AVE. AND JAMES ST. 
Seattle, Wask 



W. C. RING, MANAGER 



METROPOLITAN 
PRESS 



PRINTERS OF THIS PUBLICATION 

— are equipped to handle large edition 
work — blank books — steamship and 
railroad folders — stationery of every 
description — out-of-town orders given 
especial attention. 



Seattle 


.\ letter of entiuiry will bring 
you an estimate of cost of 
any contemplated printed matter. 


!— 



A 



F^ 




'■'^"' ' ' I -■ « mt; r 

r^.ff JTHEVALDFZ-FAIRBANKSTRAILI "^f^ 



•V 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 

Illustrated u ith 10(1 Photot^raphs. 

CONTENTS 

COVER DESIGN "The Northern Lights" 

(Photograph copyi-ishl by Geo. C. Cantwi-U, Valrlez. Plates hy Maring A.- Blake, Seattle.) 

FRONTISPIECE "Sprin.,^ an.! Summer at Fairbanks" 

THE "GREAT COUNTRY" II, ,n. Walter E. Clark, (^v. .,f Alaska 

ALASKA'S MOST VITAL NEED Jud-e James Wickersham, Dele-ate to Congress from Alaska 

THE HUILDINC^, OF THE VALDF.Z-FAIRBAKNS TRAIL.— Major W. P. Ricliardson, U. S. A., 
Pres. Alaska Road Commisslmi. 

ALASKA STEAMSHIP SERVICE. 

VALDEZ, 'FHE GATEWAY' 'I'O AN EMPIRE. 

THE STom OF A GREAT HIGHWAY'. 

FAIRBANKS, THE ME'IROPOLIS. 

THE PROSPECTS OF A RAILROAD INTO. THE INTERIOR. 

PLACER MINING IN THE TANANA, 

'I H E QUARTZ OF THE TANANA VALLEY F. F. Keeker 

THE QUARTZ OUTLOOK FROM AN ASSAYER'S STANDPOINT L. M. Drury 

THE AGRICULTURAL POSSIBILITIES OF IN'FERIOR AI^ASKA.— C. C. Geor.t'cson. Special 

Agent in Ch;irge of Alaska Iinestigations. 

FURS, FEA'EHERS AND FINS Geo. C. Cantwell 

THE SALMON TRAIL. 

CHENA, HOT SPRINGS AND TIIF TANANA V'ALLEY. 

ALASKA COMMERCE. 

THE INNOKO AND IDI'I AROD DISTRICTS. 

ALASKA'S POS'FAL SERVICE J,,hn P. Clum, Former Postal Inspector of Alaska 

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 

EDITORS NOTK. — Owing to delays in the drafting of the maps tliat are a part of this volume the work 
appears later in the year than was at first intended. Particular pains lias lioen taken that nothing should appear 
in the book that is not absolutely aeeurate. The greater portion of sjiaee is given to pliotographle reproduetions. 
as actual pi. tares are the truest descriptions of any sei-tion of emintry. Tin- maioritv of tlie pliotngi-aphs 
iLsed are summer scenes, as Ihey are more typical of Alaska than tlie manv snow scenes that are usually used 
in books regarding the territory. It lias been impossible to give credit for every photograpli that appears 
and thanks is here given for tlie use of photographs from tlie following artists: Huev and Robin.son. Fairbanks; 
Nowell. Nome and Seattle: Hunt and Canlwell, Valdez. 

Published by 

THE ALASKA PUBLISHING CO. 

SEC. F., CENTRAL BUILDING, SEAT II.F. FAIRBANKS, ALASKA. 




■M 



3 ^ ^ 

ft 



THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSTRML 



in 




•"''1 



a,-^ 



Tanana Valley Railroad Co. 



STATION OK THE TAXANA VALLIOV R. R. AT FAIRBANKS 



Three T 



rams 



Daily 



BE'rW'KKN 



i 




Fairbanks and The Creeks 

To C'heiia, Kstcr, Happy, l^'ldor.-ulo, Knoiiu-cr, 
( Joldstrcaiii. Pedro. Donic. N'aiill, Littlt- 
l-'jidorado, Cliataiiika and Clcaiy Cri'cks 

PASSKXGKH AM) FHFJaUT STACiES orFJiATKD liV 
THE COMPAW COXXIX'T WITH ALL TILIIXS. 



FALCON JOSLIN 



PllESIDKXT 



A. P. TYSON 

(;knfiiat. man ac^eu 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANK5MIL 



y^m^k^^ 




Nordale 
Hotel 

Fairbanks, Alaska 
^Modern in E<i'erv U'av 



yoi u '/'ATiiox.uii-: 
.s()/j(:i-T/:i) 



TONY NORDALE. Prop. 




l^^ft 



THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMILI 




Copper Reiver Lumber Co 




AliliinCiM'tiirers of 

Rou^Ii and 
Dress ed 
L u m b e 1* 



ni>al«*rM In Dtiitrs. Windows and 
Other Knililiim ^lati-rial 



Ollli'i- and Mill: WuliTrnint. het. 
fSi-iiad\\ii> and Alaska Ave. 



DIRECTORS 

EDMUND SMITH. Pies. 
W. M. FINKWL. 

Vice-Pres. and Manager. 
C. E. BUNNELL, 

Sec'.v and Treasurer. 
C. S. WILLS, Board Director. 
.1. PRANK BIRDSELL, 

Board Director. 



VALDEZ 



ALASKA 



Smith's Gun Store 




I.XTERIOR VIEW 



GL'NS, Ammunition, Hardware, Crockery, Bar Glass- 
ware, Stoves and Ranges, Harness and Saddlery, 
Victor Piionographs. Agents Brunswick-Balks 
Collender Co., National Cash Registers, Angle Lamps. 
Creek and Mail Orders promptly attended to. 

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 

Bo.x 325. Phone 85. 



Community 
Advertising 



C hambers of Commerce and Commercial Bodies 
Organized and Placed in Working Order 

Advertising Campaigns Planned and Conducted in 
Any Part of the United States or Canada 

Pamphlets and Booklets Compiled and Published for 

Commercial Organizations, Communities, 

Banks and Large Business 

Institutions 



No Contracts Closed By Mail 

ADDRESS 
HALLOCK C. BUNDY 

Promoter of Publicity 
SEC. F.. CENTRAL BUILDING, SEATTLE 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL r 




"There is a Reason' why wei^a^e 

done over $20, 000 per year the past tl^ree years 
with Alaska people. 



Strict attention to details. Sterling integrity. Handling only the best in 
materials. No garment delivered unless it's perfect. Goods priced right. Es- 
tablished here twenty years. We have experience and the know how. 

"JUST KNOW US" 








# 



IRVING S CANNON 

2 I 1 COLUMBIA STREET SEATTLE. WASH. 

Don't prospect — Tab this address and make us a call when in .'^eatllr. 



' / HE Canned Goods you 

^ can always depend o?i — 

HAPPY HOME brand- 

the favorite of discriminating 

housekeepers all over the 

Northwest 



Each can guaranteed by 

Schwahacher Bros. &f Co., hn. 
Seattle 



Henry Disston 
o Sons, Inc. 

PHILADELPHIA. U. S. A. 

Saws - Knives 

Files 

Saw Tools 



PACIFIC COAST 
BRANCHES 

SEATTLE. WN. 
PORTLAND, ORE. 
SPOKANE. WN. 

X'ANCOrVFR, i-r r 



,ci/^ 





rf ^-ff ,' THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL I 1R|^^ 




MILLS' 




DRY GOODS, 
NOTIONS, 

WOMEN'S 

READ'i-TO-WEAR, 

WOMEN'S 

FURNISHING 

GOODS. 



Wc aim to supply ihc wants of woman in every 
particular, carry an extensive slock, and sell dependable 
!:oocls .it noii-competitivc prices. 

Our prices compare favorably willi those of out- 
side bouses. 

FAIRBANKS. ALASKA 

N. ^^ Office 

821 BROADWAY. 

Store Room 

IHIRD .^VE. AND CUSHMAN ST. 




Biggest Dry Goods and Women^s 

Ready-to- Wear House in the 

Biggest Territory of the 

United States 

I:.veiyllung a Woman Needs When She Needs II 

WE SERVE THE PEOPLE OF OUR COM- 
MUNITY AS THE^' ARE SERVED IN TH^: 
EASTERN ST^'LE CENTERS. 



CARPETS, RUGS, 

LINOLEUMS, HOUSE 

FURNISHINGS, 

BLANKETS, 

COMFORTERS. 

SHOES, 

MILLINERY. 





i 








i 




l^jjij^H ^BSfi. . ; .^^^"'^881 





Sl'lJIXt; ANIl sr.MMKK 
F.UKBANKS, XANANA VAI.I.KV, ALASKA 



nscH "Till \iiUle!e-FalrbankH Trail" 



THE "GREAT COUNTRY" 

By HON. WALTER E. CLARK, Governor of Alaska 





liaiilsliips. It 
L'i)Lintr\-, with 



T is inipdssihii' til spi'ak 
of Alaskii uitliiiut a 
^^ ^__ prodij^al iiuiul^ciicc in 

tW ^Bl superlatives. VV i t li i n 

I' ^1 little more than a dec- 

ade this vast northern 
^^3f''"^P''^^ '^■'^ been con- 
^y verteil from a wilder- 
ness into a district 
\\ here the comforts and 
even the luxuries of 
civilization decidedl;>' 
o\erbalance p i o n e e r 
nas become a white man's 
all that that implies. The 
"Great Countr}," as the Eskimo in un- 
witting prophecy named the territorj- 
washed by the Bering Sea, has indeed 
merited its appellation; it is great in a 
far more ample sense than that implied 
in the Innuit designation. 

W'ith its gold production steadily 
holding up; with its rapidly de\eloping 
commerce and local industry; its enor- 
mous deposits of copper and coal ; its 
splendid system of government roads; 
its adequate cable service, and its chain 
of lighthouses along the coast, Alaska 
merits every proud boast made in its 
favor. 

In gold output alone the territory ha^ 
more than justified its purchase by the 
far-sighted Seward. Its contribution in 
gold to the United States mint alone 
amounts to more than 17 times its pur- 
chase price. The copper and coal de- 
posits and tlie other fundamental re- 
sources bared to the world by the hard\' 
pioneer of the North, are of such gi- 
gantic proportions that it is impossible 
to measure their \alue in ordinary terms 
of speech. That copper is destined to 
become as potent a slogan of Alaska as 
gold has been, is the opinion of many of 
our shrewdest commerciid prophets. It 
is not at all an exaggerated forecast in 
this connection to assert that Alaska will 
soon proxe to be the world's greatest 
storehouse of copper. 

The wealth and promise of Alaska 
cannot, however, be entirely estimated 
in terms of ore production. Its pioneer 
age has been an ore age. 'I'hus far 
Alaskans have been too bus>- with gold 
to pay much attention to developing the 
country's other resources. It is, how- 
ever, certain that a countr> with an 



area one-liftli as large as that ot the 
L'niteil States and with resources pro- 
pc-rtioniitel}- varied, will not long con- 
fine its entire energies to mining. Alaska 
possesses in prodigal sup|il\ those essen- 




di 



Phtli h F. II. Stwfll 

lion. Waller K. I'laik. 



tials of human activitw — coal, timber, 
and unlimited water power for manu- 
facturing; fisheries and mines, and, to 
no inconsiderable extent, .aralile soil. 
Opportunity in this virgin land where 
these sources of vast wealth ha\e as 



\et been practicail) untoucheil, is too 
exiilent to need comment. 

For the application of the conserva- 
tionist's creed, Alaska offers an unde- 
spoiled field. Profiting b\ our experi- 
ence in this connection in the States, we 
ma\ develop this northern territory with 
a clearer vision as to the needs of future 
generations. We may get better high- 
ways, and get them more quickly. VV'c 
may build railroads without surrendering 
\aluable land grants. We may prevent 
monopidy in the establishment of mines. 
And we may carry on the lumbering in- 
dustry without the gross waste and de- 
forestation which has too frequently 
characterized lumbering operations in 
the States. 

A forecast of Alaska's future, predi- 
cated upon the territory's phenomenal 
development in the past, can only 
be outlined in the most glowing 
terms. Of material progress there 
can be no doubt. As to its social and 
political trends there is more rcom for 
speculation. It is a vast countr\- ; it will 
have many problems to solve and its men 
will have many grave issues to decide. 
1 hat these decisions w'ill for the most 
part directly and materiall) aid toward 
the proper upbuilding of this "Great 
Country" is assured b\- the character of 
its people — a virile, courageous and ener- 
getic breed of men. 




W -,!■ 



Map Showing Compaialivo Sizi- of .Maska and the United Status 







THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAH Ij "tS^H^^ 





Photo by P. S. Hunt 



Where the Trail Meets the Sen — Vnldez Harbor 




Photo by Huey 



The River Fioiit, Fairbanks 



:3r 




-r^flT 



JHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 




ALASKA'S MOST VITAL NEED 

By JUDGE JAMES WICKERSHAM, Delegate to Congress from Alaska 




'LASKA is at that 
critical stage of its 
growth where the 
turlherance of its 
ciiminercial j^reatness, 
and the liarmonious 
activity ot its people 
is dependent upon the 
establishment of some 
form of autonomy. 
Those details if 
icfiislation designed to encourage and 
safeguard the inhabitants of the terri- 
tory in the pursuit of interests accordant 
with the common welfare cannot be 
satisfactorih' decreed by a congress 
whose members are, and have always been, 
patently unfamiliar with the peculiar 
needs and conditions of our vast North- 
ern domain. Only men who have lived 
in the territory', who have adequate first- 
hand knowledge concerning the country, 
who are familiar with its urgent needs 
and appreciate its critical situations, are 
qualified to frame just legislative meas- 
ures applicable to Alaska. For forty 
years Alaska's development has been re- 
tarded and handicapped b\ the inade- 
quate legislative measures imposed by a 
congress sitting thousands of miles out- 
side its boundaries. The National As- 
sembly has been particularly dilatory in 
regard to Alaskan affairs, and it will one 
day be the shame of the United States 
tliat its interests in its northern frontier 
territory was of such grossh' negligent 
character. 

With a white population of 50,(X)0, 



The constitution of the United States 
should be extended to its northern ter- 
ritory. An organic law should lie; 
framed providing for an elective terri- 
torial legislature, consisting of the usual 
upper and lower houses, with a limiteii 
membership and with its powers care- 
full) limited so that no territorial indebt- 
edness could be incurred nor county gov- 
ernment inaugurated ; with a fixed limit 
on its powers of taxation, and such otiier 




restrictions as woulii insure the territory 
a sufficient though inexpensive form of 
self government. Alaska, in a wortl. 
should be treated as all other American 



with dozens of permanently established territories have been treated in the past. 



towns and witii a variety of well-de- 
lined industries no longer directiv de- 
pendent upon the depth of the local gold 
pockets, Alask:i has reached the point 
where some form of self government i^ 
not only justified, but imperative. 

Complete territorial government is 
the most \ital ne<-d of Alaska toda\'. 



The pioneers of the North have as 
much right to autonomy as h;;\e the 
alien races of the Philippines and Porto 
Rico, who have their own legisla- 
ti\e assemblies with members elected 
by their own people. \Vh\ should thi-; 
privilege be denied to the most charac- 
teristicalK' American of all our terri- 



In no section of the United States 
proper, or in the world, for that matter, 
is there a finer democrac\ than that 
which obtains in the average Alaska 
communitN'. NoAvhere is there exempli- 
fietl a finer sense of justice and fair 
dealing than that to be found in the 
daily intercourse of these northern fron- 
tiersmen. Alaskans do not make much 
acclaim regarding democracy They 
practice it instinctively. 

Just as there are a great man\ cur- 
rent misconceptions about Alaska's phys- 
ical conditions, so there are many mis- 
taken notions entertained by outsiders 
regarding the moral and intellectual 
caliber of its citizenship. This is to be 
ascribed chiefly to the influence of a pop- 
ular type of fiction dealing with the 
North, in which the worst element of 
the territory has been given undue prom- 
inence, in which the criminal and the 
"bad man" has been represented as the 
typical Alaskan. To disabuse tiie pubii.- 
of this erroneous conception, it may be 
stated that widely respected men who 
have had a lifelong experience in min- 
ing camps and frontier settlements agree 
that they have never seen elsewhere the 
high qualities of manhood usually found 
in Alaskan communities. It is the con- 
sensus of opinion among men qualified 
to judge, that these men are the most 
law-abiding people in the world. 

It is because of the intelligent, per- 
sistent struggles of self-respecting me i 
of this stamp that the development of 
Alaska has been so marvelously advanced 
within the past ten years; that it has 
been so much more rapidh' opened up 
than was the case with former terri- 
tories, despite every handicap the\' have 
had to overcome. It has been stated 
that ten per cent of the white Alaskans 
of today are college-bred men. Certain- 
l\ their intelligence is above the average. 
Their energy and courage is proverbial. 
Iheir n-anhood of the broadest gauge. 

Ihey ileserve more encouragement in 
their pioneer activities than they have 
thus far been accorded at the h.inds of 
the Congressional boih. 





llMiiliiiK H<'avy l,o:iiis on Governmont P.iiilt Higliwiiy.s in .Maska. 

11 




'^^-ff 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANK5 TRAIL 



Irt^^^ 








^m .;.. -■/ 



^'jf^!^^ 



^ '"^ 



riiot.i l.y p. S. Hunt 



\':ililoz-l"aili)aTil<s \Va,!;(.ii Hi.a.l Ndilli ,,f Tc^ikliell 




I'hoto by P. S. Hunt. 



Viililci!-Kiiiil)nnks Wayuii Road — Api)ruai.-li lu Keystone Canyon 



L 






THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 



'Tfl*'^ 




BUILDING OF VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 

By MAJOR W. P. RICHARDSON, U. S. A., President Alaska Road Commi..ion 
Being a copy of his report to the Secretary of War for the year 1909 




|PON the close of lasl 
.season's work the Board, 
basing upon its experi- 
ence of the previous 
three years' worli and 
upon a personal inspec- 
tion of the overland 
route from Valdez to 
Fairbanks, made up a 
special estimate of 
funds for the improve- 
ment of this route for 
general sumnier travel by wagon or buck- 
board, together with additional amounts 
needed to complete the Chiikat road and 
certain other roads and trails having 
military and i)ostal uses. This estimate 
amounted to $35().iMi(I.Oil and was ap- 
proved by the Secretary of War and ap- 
jiroiiriated by Congress, with, however, 
the understanding, and assurance of the 
President of the Board to the Military 
Committee of the House, that the amount 
would be sufficient to carry through the 
improvements i)roposed and obviate the 
necessity for a further ajipropriation at 
the next session of Congiess, 1909-10. in 
order to make the work continuous 
ihrough the two seasons. 

.\niici|)ating favorable action upon Ihi- 
estimate preparation was made in the 
early winter looking to the most economi- 
cal methoil of expenditure and best re- 
sults obtaiiuible under the conditions, 
from the appropriation, which prepara- 
tion embraced the inirchase of additional 
animals and etiuipment and the shipment 
by sled over the winter road from Valdez 
of tools, forage, rations and other sup 
plies, for distribution along the route for 
use during the open working season of 
1909. 

To proper'y supervise this winter work, 
the offic of the Commission was trans- 
feri-cd by orders of the War Dei)artnienl 
from Skagway. where it had been since 
ihe orgaiiizal ion of the Board, the Coast 
terminus of the overland route. The 
transfer was made in February, and the 
shipment and distriliution of supi)lies was 
carried out successfully, under the super- 
vision of Lieut. Orchard, disbursing ofti 
cer of the Commission, and the immedi- 
ate direction of Mr. .1. H. Ingram, super- 
intendent of Ihe Valde/, district. The en- 
gineer officer was occu])ied more ])articu- 
iarly durln.g the winter in examining the 
winter conditions and needs for improve 
nient on the road from Valdez as lar as 
Kort Gibbon and laler in the Kenai i)en- 
insula. 

Summer Construction Work. 

The season for work in I be field opened 
lather late, but with everything in readi 
ness for an active summer. On the Val- 
dez-Fairbanks route 19 separate working 
crews were located: each crew consisting 
of foreman, cook. 2 teamsters and from 
20 to 2.") laborers, with a wagon and 4 to 
ti horses, for moving camp and hauliu'j; 
timbers and camp supplies. Flows and 
scrapers were used wherever practicabK", 
althovigh Ihe greater part of the work, 
being in a broken and rocky country, or 
through brush and limber swamp, had to 
be done by hand with pick, mattock and 
shovel. 



Unfortunately lor the i)lans of the 
Hoard. abo\it the middle of summer an 
almost unprecedented rainfall set in 
throughout the interior, which, added to 
the already high water from the melted 
snows and glaciers of the mountains, re- 
sulted in flooding the streams, washing 
and delayin.g the work all along the line 
and partially destroyin.g one of the most 




Ph„,., h, F. II. N>tv,n 
.Ma.inr \V. I'. Richardson, t" 



impnrlani and expensive of I be liridges 
erect (id by the Commission, in 19(i(i, at an 
original cost of about $20.(ioii.oii. This 
bridge spanned the Tazlina River, a dan- 
gerous glacier stream, and it was not 
possible to leplace the p(U'tion carried 
away during the summer. This period of 
rain was followed, after a brief period, 
by an early winter, and some of the work- 



ing parties were driven from the field 
on account of deep snow about three 
weeks earlier than would usually happen. 

Discouraging as were these unusual 
conditions, in a country where the work- 
ing season is extremely short at best, 
mention of them here is made only as a 
matter of justice to the Board in relation 
to the cost of the work. It was impossi- 
ble to accomplish as much as had been 
hoped for, and the loss to the Board by 
destructive floods and the increased cost 
of new work, with the delays incident 
thereto, will i)robably amount to at least 
$75,000.00, or more than 20 per cent of 
the estimated cost. 

However, a great deal of imporiani 
work was completed. The entiie route 
was gone over, with the exception of 
about seventeen miles, in disconnected 
sections, most of which, however, are 
passable, but which had to be left unim- 
liroved on account of the approaching 
winter. These unimproved sections em- 
brace a section between Tonsina and 
Copper Center, — very soft, — some short 
stretches of swamp between Copi)er Cen- 
ter and Gulkana and seven miles over 
what is known as the Dome on Ihe lower 
Delta. 

Summer Travel 

Travel on foot and horseback was con- 
tinuous over the route during the past 
summer, and two droves of cattle and a 
drove of l.oOO sheep were taken over. 
The "going" was bad. on accoi'nt of the 
heavy rains and new work in progress, 
as might be exi)ected. till near the close 
of the season. 

It became generall.v known before the 
beginning of the season's work, that as 
ai)propriation of $:{5(I.imi(| had been made 
by Congress for the construction o;' mili- 
tary and post roads in the Territory, and 
I hat 'he plans of the Roail Commission 
were to expend Ihe principal ])art of this 
amount in improving this overland route 
foi- summer travel by wheeled vehicles 




.Mnska Ro:iii i misMnn's Team iirni .-^,i.i]'.r ti \:iM>z 



LI 




^ft 



MVALDEZ-FAIPBANK5TRAII 





and to push the worl< as rapidly as ijos- 
sible This intoriuation, being freely dis- 
cussed and reflected upon, became con- 
verted presently into the apparent belief, 
in many persons' minds, that the road 
was already completed with the opening 
of summer and snould be in good condi- 
tion for travel. This curious fact might 
be interjjreted into an indirect compli- 
ment, in the first instance, to the capacity 
of the Board for accomplishing things, 
but it resulted later in much needless 
abuse of the road and criticism of the 
Commission's methods; notably, though 
unex|>ectedly so, in the case of some 
members of the Signal Corps engaged on 
the work of improving the military tele- 
graph line along the route. The people 
who have spent some time in Alaska 
thoroughly understand the conditions in 
respect to this work, but to prevent a 
wrong impression in the minds of others 
it seems necessary to again repeat here 
that the roads and trails so far con- 
structed in the Territory are, with few- 
exceptions, of a pioneer character, and 
their value should be measured against 
the conditions of a few years ago, which 
still exist over a greater part of the Ter- 
ritory, rather than in comparison with 
what are now known as ".good" roads in 
ihe slates. 

The Valdez-Fairbanks road has not 
been constructed with a view to heavy 
traffic in snnmier, nor for the comfort- 
able use of automobiles. This will be 
appreciated when it is explained that the 
whole amount spent on the road, includ- 
ing location and maintenance, since its 
beginning as a dog team trail, for both 
summer and winter travel, is approxi- 
mately $650,000, excluding cut-offs for 
winter travel only, or about $1,700 per 
mile. In sections of rock and gravel 
side-hills cuts the construction of a pas- 
sable route for wheels meant necessarily 
Ihe building of a substantial road, but 
in many long stretches the surface ma- 
terial is the only natural soil of the 
locality, with pole or brush corduroy un- 
derneath to give support in swampy 
places. Such sections naturally become 
cut u)) and muddy with much traffic in 
rainy weather, which condition is made 



worse on account of the narrowness of 
the road, which was necessary for rea- 
sons of economy. 

Present State of Development 

The present state of the road is a de- 
velopment in response to the needs of the 
country, as far as possible, with the 
funds at the disposal of the Commission. 
The needs have been: first, a trail over 
which mail could be safely transported 
by dog team or single horse sled in 
winter and for foot passengers and pack 
animals in sunmier, with the bridging of 
dangerous streams and impassable 
swamps; second, a double or four horse 
sled road for mail, passenger and ex- 
jiress traffic in \vinter; and third, the 
present condition of the road for general 
light wheeled traffic in summer. The 
next step in its development will be, if 
funds become available, to widen it 
throughout, improve the grades, increase 
and jjerfect the drainage by further ditch- 
ing, with additional culverts where neces- 
sary to carry off the water. Good drain- 
age, a most important factor in all road 
construction, is nowhere more necessary 
than on the one here described. All this 
work can now be done rapidly and at 
reasonable cost, and a really excellent 
country road completed in a few years, 
which will require only a small annual 
expenditure thereafter for repair and 
maintenance. 

This route (about 285 miles in length, 
omitting a few cut-offs for winter travel 
only), extends from the open port of 
Valdez to the very heart of Alaska, at 
Fairbanks, connecting there in summer 
with the navigable waters of the Tanana 
and Yukon basins, and during the closed 
season of navi,gation with the winter mail 
trails to the North and Westward. It 
connects directly, or through branch 
loutes. all the military posts in Alaska, 
except one. and the military telegrajih 
line follows it nearly the whole distance 
Irom Valdez to St. Michael, or more than 
1.000 miles, including the winter exten- 
sion from Fairbanks. The re-building of 
this line with a double line of wire from 
Valdez as far as Fairbanks was com- 
pleted this season in excellent shape, and 



the expense and difficulty of line main- 
tenance will be simple matters in future 
compared to what they have been in pre- 
vious years. 

The Tanana valley, now the most ac- 
tive mining section of Alaska, will be the 
home of a permanent i)opulation. It is 
expected that a summer mail service will 
be established over the route at an earlv 
date and the travel and traffic of all 
kinds will increase as facilities are im- 
proved, and w-ill continue for all time to 
come. 

Demand for Additional Roads 

Important branch roads, connecting 
with the main route, are beginning to be 
demanded. Principal of these is a con- 
necting road between the mouth of the 
Chitna river, where the Copper River rail- 
road turns easterly up the valley of the 
Chitna, and a point on the wagon road 
near Copper Center. This road it is 
proposed to construct next season. Other 
important and much needed branches are 
to the Valdez Creek district from some 
point on the main road not yet deter- 
mined, and from Paxson's to Slate Creek. 

While this main route has received the 
princii)al attention and the bulk of the 
expenditure during the season just closed, 
other parts of the Territory have not 
been neglected. All roads and trails pre- 
viously constructed by the Board have 
been kept in repair, and extensions made 
where\er necessary and funds were avail- 
able. 

Road Mileage 

The largest part of the season's work 
has been in the general nature of im 
provement and conversion of road here- 
tofore classified as "winter sled" into the 
class of wagon road above described and 
the improvement of trail into sled road. 
Accordingly, the princiijel increase in 
mileage has been of wagon road, with a 
small reduction of trail as heretofore re- 
ported. The total mileage under dif- 
ferent heads is given below, with com- 
l)arison of the totals at the close of last 
season : 

190S 1909 
Miles Miles 

Wagon road _ 717.89 451.92 

Winter sled road 421.00 .'?9G.90 

Trail .._ 20:3.56 255.07 

Trail staked, permanent 

(iron stakes) 257.00 

Trail staked, temporary. 

winter 190S-09 ...."._ 070.00 

A number of roads, notably, the Haines- 
Chilkat. Eagle-^^orty Mile. Circle-Birch 
Creek and Rampart-Minook roads, were 
completed in so far as conditions of traf- 
fic at this time justify. The Sewai'd 
Peninsula (Nome District) is fairly well 
provided with the most necessary "roads. 
with one or two exceptions, and the 
system is in a good state of repair. The 
same may be said of Ihe local roads in 
the immediate vicinity of Fairbanks. 
Some impi-ovement was made on the win- 
ter extension of the mail route from 
Fail-banks westward, and where it had 
been found necessary to place guide 
stakes for protection to w-inter travelers 
through the treeless and exposed sections 
along Ihe coast of Bering Sea and on Ihe 
Seward Peninsula, this staking was made 
permanent by Ihe setting of iron stakes 
with small tnetal flags. 

It was not deemed advisable to attempt 
any work on the winter trail from Knik. 
at llie head of Cook Inlet, aci-oss the 
Atlantic range lo the Kuskokwim and 



p^siiS? 







THE VALDE7-FAIRBANK5.TRA1I 





Corstnictinji \\*ork on Thompson's Pass 



Innoko. of which a reconnoissance was 
made in the late winter of 1907-08. The 
best results from Us construction will 
not come until after the Alaska Central 
Railroad shall have been extended as far 
as Knik. at the head of the inlet, and 
until some further developments take 
place in the Kuskokwim and Innoko dis- 
tricts . These conditions have, partially 
at least, been fulfilled during the past 
year. The Alaska Central has been re- 
organized, through a receivership, and 
has extended its track about 20 miles dur- 
ing the past season, with plans, I under- 
stand, for further extension in the near 
future: and. on the other hand, the In- 
noko mining district, near the other, or 
Yukon, end of the i)roposed route, has 
become, during the late summer and fall, 
the objective point of one of the largest 
"stampedes" since I he one to Fairbanks 
five years ago. The particular find which 
l)roduced the excitement was made on a 
iributary of a small river flowing into the 
Iimoko, hitherto almost miknown, even to 
old residents of I he Territory, and given 
on one map as the Hydelotna, but com- 
monly called Ihe Iditarod. Re|)orts com- 
ing out at this time indicate that the 
movement is still in progress and that 
the "strike" is rich and of considerable 
extent. The natural outlet to the Coast 
for this region is via the tipper Kuskok- 
wim valley and over Rainy Pass to the 
head of Cook Inlet, and it is hoped that 
the funds may be available for some 
work on the proposed trail next season. 

There is a growing need for a con- 
tinuation liy land of the winter mail road 
below Fort Gibbon, the section of it 
as far down as Kaltag being now, for the 
most part, on the river ice. Such con- 
tinuation wovild naturally be on the 
south side of the Yukon and could be 
carried via the Innoko. joining the Cook 
Inlet route Ironi there to Kaltag. From 
the last-named place there exists a great 
need of a good wa.gon and sled road for 
both summer and winter trail to the 
coast of Bering Sea at llnalaska or St. 
Michael. With the development of the 
Kuskokwim, there will also come the 
need of a road between the river and 
the Yukon. All these last -mentioned 



routes are important, as general lines 
of travel and communication are needed 
for the development of the Territory. 

To provide for the necessary funds for 
carrying on the work in a systematic 
way in future, some further means will, 
it is thought, have to be devised, and 
some modifications made in the laws re- 
lating to road construction in Alaska. 
.4s heretofore explained, the special ap- 
propriation of last winter was for the 
purpose of completing the Valdez-Fair- 
banks route through for wheeled traffic 
in summer, and for the improvement and 
extension of certain other routes having 
value for military and postal uses, as well 



as for general travel, the work to extend 
over two seasons if necessary. The sum 
was sufficient for the i)uri)ose named, 
only for the extraordinary conditions of 
weather and consequent increased cost 
and loss by flood as noted in the earlier 
part of this report. Xo further appro- 
priation can, therefore, be asked at the 
coming sessicm of Congress through this 
channel, unless the Committee shoiijd 
consider it proi)er, under the circum- 
i-lances. to approve a small emergency 
fund estimated to compensate for the 
damage sustained through floods. 

It is thought proper for me to state 
here that the members of the Road Com- 
mission were in no way responsible for, 
nor connected with, the nujvemeni in- 
augurated on the Pacific Coast last win- 
ter in the interest of increased api)ro- 
priations from Congress, and asking for 
$1,000,000 at the last session. This 
movement, while well intended, was 
somewhat ill advised at that time, in 
my opinion, and resulted in some con- 
fusion in the minds of members of the 
Senate and Hou.se of Representatives who 
were striving to put through the appro- 
priations which had been asked for by 
the Board and approved by the Secre- 
tary of War. To add to the confusion, 
the committee in charge of the move- 
ment took the name of the Alaska Road 
Committee, which, to many persons meant 
the tame as our Board, Some further 
activity is exi)ected along the same lines 
the coming winter, and while the Board 
cannot fail to appreciate the sentiment 
of approval of its work which evidently 
lies behind Ihe movement, it is hoped 
that, for the best interests of the work, 
the movement will be confined to such 
approval and to a support of the Board's 
recommendations, instead of exhausted 
in the effort to get separate or increased 
appropriations. 





f^flT 



THP VALDEZ- FAIRBANKS TRAI I 




Suggestions for Revenue for Road 
Construction 

Tin- [i(iiior liceiist", trade aiul occupa- 
tion lax has yielded about $110,000 a 
year to the wagon road and trail portion 
of the Alaska fund. I reconiniend that 
this tax law be amended to include 
dredges, telegraph and telephone lines 
and some small lines of business which 
were ai)parently overlooked, but for 
which there seems to exist no special 
reason for exemption. It is furtlier 
recommended that a flat tax be placed 
on salmon canneries In addition to the 
present tax of 4 cents per case, exeni])- 
tion from which tax is now obtained 
llirough the distribution of fry from 
lialcheries: also, that a tax of $.5.00 iier 
annum l)i' placed upon all quartz and 
placer claims, not patented, and a small 
lax upon each ton of coal and copper 
mined in the Territory. It is believed 
that these additional taxes may be placed 
without becoming burdensome, and that 
I he natural resources be thus made to 
aid in its general development. 

In addition to the above it is sug- 
gested that an amendment to the mining 
law in Alaska be offered providing that 
any claim owner may, if he so elect, pay 
into the AIa.ska F'und for the benefit of 
the road and trail construction the sum of 
$100.00, which sum shall be in lien of 
all assessment work, recorders' fees and 
tax, as above provided, upon any claim 
tor the current year. The proposition of 
paying a certain sum to the road and 
trail fund, in lieu of assessment work, 
has frequently been discussed in recent 
years and has been brought before Con- 
gress in the form of a bill, but has not 
heretofore found favor, for the reason 
that the iJrovision made it manda- 
tory instead of optional. To the proposi- 
tion in the form now suggested I can 
see no jjossible objection. The matter 
will rest entirely with the owner of the 
claim and if he shall think that his prop- 
erty will be more benefited by contribut- 
ing to the iraijrovement of the road lead- 
ing to it, he will avail himself of the 
provision, while the effect upon the em- 
ployment of labor will merely be the 
transfer of u certain amount of work 
from mines to roads and trails. It is be- 
lieved that Ibis provision will meet with 
general faxor and be productive of good 
results. 

In the closing paragraph of my report 
of la.^t year I stated that "the time is 
apiiroaching. it is thought, when the lo- 
cal roads in the different sections may be 
turned over for maintenance and exten- 
sion to local authorities, leaving only the 
main Irunk line in the hand of the Road 
Commission," and suggesting a local 
board of road sui)ervisors to have charge 
in (-onnection with the application of the 
per capita local road law. Experience of 
I he past season does not argue any near 
aptiroach of the 
suggested change, 
to the advantage 
of the Territory, 
rather the contrary. 
Good results from 
the operation of 
this local law have 
been obtained only 
where the board of 
road commission- 
ers has voluntarily 
given assistance in 
the matter, furnish- 
ing overseers in 
some instaiices and 



suiiervkiing the work. The allerna- 
tive to the suggestion of last year 
is the board of road commissioners 
to designate the overseers in all cases 
and lo supervise the expenditures of 
money and labor under this law, in con- 
nection with this other work, and I 
recommend (he law be amended to this 
effect. There is little doubt that the 
best results and, I believe, the most 
satisfactory in nearly all cases, will be 
obtained by having the entire work under 
one direction. This should continue until 
i.uch lime as Congress shall decide to 
grant some form of local self govern- 
]nent lo the Territory, including a gen- 
eral legislative body, which would natur- 
ally be expected to take charge of, and 
be responsible for, such local improve- 
ments. Without expressing an opinion 
here as lo when this might be done with 
advantage to the Territory, it seems 
in-oper to state that until the time the 
development of the Territory along this 
liariicular line can be more systematically 
advanced, and the greatest good done to 
the whole people, by having the work 
combined as above indicated. 

Railroad Needed 

Of ecpial imporlance with the wa.^on 
road construction in giving impetus and 
si ability lo the development of the Ter- 
ritory is the construction of one or more 
lines of railway. Reference to the sub- 
.lect has been made by me in former re- 
ports of the Road Commission, and sev- 
eral reports and memoranda have been 
submitted to the Secretary of War con- 
cerning the progress made by various 
roads attempting or proposing to build 
in different sections of the Territory .The 
following quotations are made from one 
of these memoranda: 

"Wagon roads in certain places and 
pack and sled trails across the country 
are necessary for the development of 
Alaska (and are considered elsewhere), 
whether railroads are constructed or not, 
and will always be an aid to sections 
where traffic is not sufficient to .iustify 
railroad construction, but it can no longer 
be doubled by those familiar with the 
district and that the one great need is a 
railroad connection between the interior 
of the district and an open port the year 
lound." 

The subject was resolved into two 
luiucipal proi)ositions: 

"1. Is liiere evidence at hand in thf 
devoloiHnents which have taken place in 
the interior of Alaska during the recent 
years and in the present outlook to jus- 
tify the belief that its mineral deposits 
are of an extent and value to give em- 
ployment I'oi- an indefinite lime and yield 
ad<'(|uale returns, and are the conditions 
wilh ri'spi'ct lo I he climate and soil sucli 




as lo insure a permancnl while popula- 
tion? 

"2. Are the difficulties and expense of 
transportation attendant upon the devel- 
opment of the resources of the interior 
country sufficiently great to justify the 
government in giving supjiort to the rail- 
road construction?" 

Evidence in support of I he first projiosi- 
tion has been accumulating, since the 
memorandum was submitted, to such an 
extent thai I think the affirmative view 
will no longer be questioaed. In resjiect 

10 the second proposition, the statement 
then made is here repeated in substance: 
that the freight rates across the country 
are practically prohibitive except for 
short dislances, even with the aid of such 
wagon roads as have been const rucled. 
But even above the question of freight 
costs is the need of communication with 
the outside world; means of travel and 
speedy transportation during the long 
period of closed navigation, in order lo 
make a beginning in the substantial de- 
velopment of such a region and give en- 
couragement to private enterprise. 

fJenerally when this subject has been 
brought before Congress in the past, one 
or more representatives of some lUMvate 
enterprise have appeared before the com- 
mittees in opposition and have stoutly 
asserted that the said enterprise has pre- 
pared to build a railroad into .Alaska 
without assistance from the govenimenl. 
and seemed to have the impression that 
their (proposed) road was the only one 
needed lor the Territory's develoi)ment. 
An unbiased inquiry in the progress of 
these various enterprises during the last 
few years and in the situation as it ex- 
ists today will show that little advance 
has been made towards the fulfilment of 
such assertions, as far as the needs of 
the country at large are concerned, which 
needs do not always lie along the lines, 
as heretofore stated, where private enter- 
|)rise, naturally seeking early and safe 
returns, is most likely to make invesl- 
ment; and which inquiry will a!so show 
that several millions of dollars, drawn 
from the investors in different parts 
of the world have been needlessly wast- 
ed through various causes, such as a 
lack of lu'oper information in advance, 
conflicting local interests in resiiect of 
terminals and townsites and selfish ends 
of ambitious promoters. This is not in- 
tended as a reflection ui)on any person 
now actively engaged in the work of 
constructing any road in the Territory, 
nut it can scarcely be doubted that this 
former wastage, in the event of any par- 
ticular road being put through to the 
point where it will be on a payin.g basis, 
which then becomes a part of the obliga- 
tions of the road for which the traffic 
and resources of Ihe Territory musi pay. 

11 would, therefore, in my opinion, be 
far heller if the government would lake 

the matter in hand 
and utilize these 
resources if neces- 
sary, to guarantee 
the interest on 
bonds of actual 
construction, along 
lines thai will aid 
in general deveIo|)- 
inent of the Terri- 
tory: not interfer- 
ing with, but giving 
aid rather, if de- 
sired, under proper 
restrictions, lo any 
bona fide enterprise. 



IC 




^r^^Pf i THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 




m 



ALASKA STEAMSHIP SERVICE 

A Commerce of $60,000,000 a Year Is Dependent Upon Vessels Plying Alaska Waters 




N erroneous inipres- 

— , ^ I \ 1 sion is prevalent in 

'( — ^ u many quarters re- 
^' J \\J .tiartiinjj Alaskan 
steamsliip service. 
It seems to be tlu' 
general o p i n ion 
that Alaskan ports 
are but infrequent- 
1\ and irregular- 
ly served with 
boats from the 
outside. The fact 
is that during the past jear 740 vessels 
entered these ports and 675 cleared for 
outside points. The southern and south- 
eastern coast of the territory has a dozen 
ports of call, where a weekly and fort- 
nightlv steamship schedule is main- 
tained all the year roimd. During the 
summer season the ports along the Seat- 
tle-Skagwa\- route are served nearly 
every day by vessels plying from Seattle 
and Vancouver. 

Four companies operate steamers be- 
tween American and Canadian ports 
and Alaska: the Alaska Steamship Com- 
pan\-. the I'acific Coast Steamship Com- 
pany, the Alaska Coast Company and 
the Canadian Pacific S. S. Company. 

The Pacific Coast Company plies 
fortnightly during the winter and week- 
1\- during the summer, between Seattle 
and Skagwa\. A fleet of five fast and 
well equipped vessels is maintained on 
this service. During the summer e\- 



cursion season steamers are run to the 
glaciers and other points of interest. 
This companv also operates one steamer 
a month to Nome during the summer. 

1 he Alaska Steamship Compan\ 
maintains weekly service between Se- 
attle and Skagway in summer and a 
twelve-day schedule in winter. A steam- 
er is sent to Nome ever\ ten d;i\s in 
summer. This company has a splen- 
did fleet of fifteen ships. Three boats 
are sent to the Prince William Sound 
district on regular runs .all the \ear 
rounil, the \oyage to Cordova taking 
five da\s, to \'aldez six da\s and to 
Seward a week. Two fast \essels are 
also operated to Southeastern Alaska 
through the Inside Passage. 

The Alaska Coast Compan\ pro 
vides a bi-monthly schedule to South- 
eastern and Southwestern Alaskan po^rts 
with its two papssenger boats. In addi- 
tion it has a number of freight boats 
that do not carry passengers. 

The Canadian company plies between 
Vancouver and Alaska, running three 
boats on a ten-da.\- schedule in summer 
and a fortnightly service in winter. 

Hoats running to Southeastern Alas- 
k.-! go up through the Inside Passage to 
Skagway, touching at Ketchikan, 
Wrangell and Juneau regularly; occa- 
sionally at other ports in that district. 
The through voyage consumes about five 
da\s in all seasons. 



Southwestern Alaska is reached di- 
rect by steamers touching at Cordova, 
Valilez and Seward in a vo\age lasting 
from five to eight da\s. This region 
is also reached vi;i Juneau and the In- 
side Passage from Seattle b\' three oi 
four boats each month in from ten to 
tweUe da\- runs. Hoats run westward 
from Juneau, touching at Sitka, Yaku- 
tat Bay, Cordova, Valdez, Orca and 
Seward. At V'aldez connections are made 
for Cooks Inlet and Unalaska through 
Kodiak, once every month. In the sum- 
mer these boats go to Bristol Hay. Sew- 
aril Peninsula p(;ints are reached direct 
only during the open season of four 
inonths — June to October. 

Between 400 and 500 American ves- 
sels enter and clear from Alaskan ports 
every year, and an average number of 
300 vessels ply between foreign points. 
Combined tonnage will approximate 
600,000 to 700,000 tons. The tonnage 
for all vessels entering Alaskan ports last 
year (1909) was 615,126 tons. 

Maritime commerce along the Alas- 
kan coast has been greatl\' stimulated 
b\ the erection of a chain of lighthouses, 
24 in number. The southeastern coast 
is particularly well provided with bea- 
cons, making the sea traffic safe. The 
erection of these lights has materially 
aided in building up the annual com- 
merce of $60,000,000 carried on by 
Alaska with the outside world. 





Property Alnska Tiiast Co. 



.-<. .-<. .NUKTHWKSTKHN. 
Property Alaska Stpaniship Co. 



:^ 




THE VALDEZ-FA1RBANK5TML 






I'lniio liy p. S. Hunt. lingiaving by Western lOn.yraving Cd. 

Pack Tiain Leaving foi- the Intciiiir. Tlie Tillionm Club. Valdez. 

Automobile in Front of Seattle Hotel, VaUlez. Valdez Fire Department. 

Residence Street in A'aldez. Looking North\ve.st from City Hall. 

THE METROPOLITAN ULEXDH WITH TIHC FKONTIKR AT VALDEZ. 



IS 



T?^ 




I IHI: VALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMII. I j^^ 




i 



VALDEZ, THE GATEWAY TO AN EMPIRE 



Where the Trail Meets the Sea 




It 

coast 
tancc 



is 83 miles 
town, thus 
the trail into 



AI.DEZ, a substan- 
tial, prosperous, up- 
to-date toAvn at the 
head of V'aldez Ba\ , 
by \irtue of its su- 
perior fieonraphical 
situation, is the nat- 
ural South Alaskan 
f;atevva\' to the vast 
interior of the ter- 
ritory, 
north ot an\ other 

esseninj; b\ that di>- 
the interior. It h:; ^ 



I.SOO, aside 
passing back 



a bona tide population of 
from the man\ transients 
and forth between the sea and the in- 
terior \alle\s. It is the starting: point 
on the winter route to the Tanr.na, 
Nome, Innoko, K(j\ukuk, \':ddez Creek 
and Slate Creek mining; districts. It is 
the headquarters of the Orr and Ken- 
ned\ stage lines to Fairbanks and wa\ 
points. It is the principal port of call 
of the large deep-water vessels plying 
between Seattle and South- 
western Alaska, as well as 
being the hume port of the 
fleet of small craft pl\ing tin- 
waters of Prince William 
Sound. It is the distributing 
point for all mail matter for 
the interior or westwaril 
points. 

1 he go\ernment recog- 
nized \'aldez as the logical 
entry port to the back coun- 
try when it made this port 
the sea terminus of the 500 
mile road built thro'Ugh tlv,' 
interior to Fairb.-.nks and the 
\'ukon by its militar\- de 
partment. This selection wa 
made onl\ after exhaustive 
investigations of other possi 
ble routes and gatewa\s. 

X'ahlez is furthermore th ■ 
coast headquarters of the di^ 
trict court of the Third judi 
cial district of Alask;: : the 
headquarters for the govern 
ment cable an<l telegraph 
lines of the First and Second 
sections of Ala-ika ; the mil! 
tar\ headquarters of the 
Third division of Alaska : 
headquarters of the Chugacli 
forest reserve, and a subport 
of entry, with a collector in 
charge. 

Frfun the sprawling tent 
cit\ it was in '08, when the 
gold seekers selected this 



spot as a starting point for the interior. 
Valdez has gradually evolved into a sub- 
stantir.l, prosperous, modernized com- 
mum'tx. Handsome business blocks and 
comfortable dwellings have permanent- 
ly supplanted the uncouth huddle of 
tents from which the argonauts first cast 
gold-lustful glances toward the sur- 
rounding hills. 

The town has had a steaih', solid, 
healthfid growth. In times of ad\er- 
sit\, as in times of prosperity, the abid- 
ing faith of the inhabitants in the town's 
ultimate destiny has never waned or 
wavered. Each succeeding year since 
its progenitors gave it birth, improve- 
ments have been noted, new buildings 
erected, new businesses opened up, new 
enterprises started, others come to cast 
their fortunes with the "old-times." It 
is the largest settlement, in business, 
buihiings, and number of inhabitants, of 
any in Southwestern Alaska. 

Nine railroad companies, a major por- 
tion of which ne\er reached be\ond the 




-I I'lMllUll. 



paper stage, chose Valdez as their coast 
terminus. While these schemes failed 
for lack of financial support, it is w-orthy 
of note that all of these concerns, how- 
ever chimerical the)' nia\ have been, 
recognized this town as the onh' logical 
gatewa>\ 

Of the great mineral resources con- 
tiguous to Valdez, in the interior ot 
Alaska, much has been written, but the 
half has not been told. The countr\ has 
been but superHciall\ explored, but al- 
ready- great bodies of ore of high values 
in copper and gold, and alluvial depos- 
its containing gold and platinum have 
been uncovered. Large areas of coun- 
try remain unscratched, presenting an 
inviting Held for the prospector. 

And Valdez is the logical entrance to 
this rich region. It is onl\- a question of 
time before the "rails will meet the 
sails," thus insuring the permanence, 
prominence and prosperity of this town. 
Valdez is equipped with such modern 
public utilities as electric lights, tele- 
phones ami water system. 
The public schools of V^aldez 
are excellent. 

The medical profession is 
represented by four able and 
reliable physicians and sur- 
geons, who are ampl\- able to 
cope with the small amount 
of sickness developed among 
the remarkably healthy resi- 
dents of Valdez. The legal 
profession has more than :". 
dozen representatives. The 
town boasts two well equip- 
ped hospitals, the Valdez and 
(jood Samaritan. Lodges 
represented here are the 
AL'isons, Elks, Moose and 
Arctic Brotherhood. 

Naturally in a population, 
composed in the c;!rl\ da\s 
chietlv of men, and of men 
from all parts of the States, 
if not of the world, of all 
classes of societ\, there arose 
the same desire to form asso- 
ciations, societies, or circles 
of congeni.il companions a-; 
would influence people else- 
where. L'ntil within the past 
.\ear there was no authorit>- 
to institute a AL-isonic Lodge, 
but toda\ there is a large and 
thriving lodge of Masons in 
\'aldez. The Arctic Broth- 
erhood has for years had a 
camp of many members in 
\'aldez. The Elks have an 



r.i 



w 




jH^flT 



THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 




organization with a goodly nicnilu'i^hip. 
Probably tlie most uniiiiic, certainly 
the largest, most active anil influential, 
social organization ot X'aldez, or this 
section of Alaska, is the Order of Alas- 
kan Moose, which has from its organiza- 
tion in 1900 taken within the fold some 
hundreds of the pioneers, prospectors and 
miners, business and professional men of 
this region. It has its own lodge build- 
ing, or "tent," — a large log structure, 
with its walls within hung with curios- 
ities and relics of Alaskan 
origin, with ample reading 
room provided with dozens 
of current magazines and 
periodicals, with piano and 
dancing floor. 

The town of X'aldez was 
incorporateil upon an onler 
from Judge Hrown of the 
United States District 
Court. It is governed by 
seven councilmen elected an- 
nually. The officials of Val- 
dez are: Mayor, L. Archi- 
bald ; councilmen, Ed. Wood, 
W. M. Finical, Anton Carl- 
son, Thos. Cobb, Dr. F. \l. 
Ho\le and Gust Djarf ; clerk, 
Henry W. Miller; city treas- 
urer, E. B. Wheat ; city mar- 
shal, A. F. Hoffman; cit\ 
physician. Dr. E. M. Boyle; 
numicipal judge, Jas. H. 
Murra\ . 

The business firms of \ al- 
dez are among the most en- 
terprising and progressive 
commercial houses in Alaska, 
or of any other country for 
that matter. The broad 
gauge activities and co-opera- 
tion of these establishments, 
their modern methods and 
the absence of the petty bick- 
erings that too often handi 
cap the progress of new com- 
munities has been perhaps 
more than any other thing rh,i« h c.u 
responsible for the commer- 
cial prosperity of this gatewa}' to the 
interior. 

The leading business firms of V-'aldez 
are: The Valdez Bank & Mercantile 
Co. and S. Blum & Co., bankers and 
merchants; J. G. S[i\iler, Danz Bros., 
T. E. Dougherty, and Chas. Adier, mer- 
chants; Love-Whitle\ Co. and Frye- 
Bruhn Co., wholesale and retail meat 
dealers; the White Co.; Valdez Dock 
Co., coal, hay and grain dealers; Copper 
River Lumber Co. and Pacific Coast & 
Norway Packing Co., lumber dealers; 
Alaska Construction Co., Alaska Water, 
Light & Telephone Co., Copper River 
Draying Co., Valdez Transfer Co., Owl 
Drug Co., Red Cross Drug Co., Alaska 
Drug Co., Tod ^Vinter, jeweler; C- C. 



Rudolph, paints, oils, etc. ; \':ddez Bak- 
ery, Valdez Real Estate Agenc\-, St. 
l'",lias hotel, Seattle hotel, Valdez hotel, 
i'lioenix hotel, the Copper Block, 
Albemaile ami Southern, rooming 
houses. Hand's Cafe, Curley's Cafe, 
Senate Restaurant. Chaffee's. Waffle 
Houes P. S. Hunt and (leo. C. Cant- 
well, photographers; Ingram & Bush, 
cigar dealers; Northern Steam Laundry. 
The erection of a fine binlding for 
official use and the housing of its splen- 




■o7 \':ilii.z Hal)".!- Ii\ .Mc..iiili,i;ht. 

(lid steam fire engine and pumping plant 
b\' the town, is characteristic of the Val- 
dez civic :Jpirit and gives an indication 
of the communit\'s proper self-valuation. 
It possesses, besides a $6,000 steam hre 
engine, a hand engine and two chem- 
icals, and has an luiusualK alert fire de- 
partment. 

I he hc;iil(|uarters of the co.ist di\ i- 
sio'O of the L'nited States District Cotnt 
for the third judicial division have al- 
ways been at Valdez. Here there is a 
commodious court house, providing am- 
ple office room for the court, the judge, 
marshal, district attorney, clerk, and 
L'nited States commissioners and re- 
corder, and in connection with the court 
building a large jail building. 

20 



rile first real session of the coiu't for 
the administration of justice, with all the 
concomitant officers present, was held by 
the Hon. Jas. Wickersham, late judge 
of the third division of said court, and 
now our well-knoAvn ilelegate to Con- 
gress from Alaska. 

It is needless to say that the presence 
of the court at Valdez as a permanent 
feature has been, and ever will be, a 
strong factor in the upbuilding of the 
town :;nd cause extended recognition of 
the central ity of its location. 
The town itself is flanked 
tc the westward by an over- 
flow of population, who, on 
what was formerly a military 
ie^er\ ation, ha\e built a 
town as large as Valdez 
proper. The residents of this 
section thus far i)a\' no taxes 
in the town, but ha\e the ad- 
\antages of fire protection, 
lighting, and police protection 
Irom the United States dep- 
uty marshals. Steps are now 
ill progress to bring about the 
annexation of this portion of 
the tout!, which would make 
for a great advance in the 
pn:sperit\- and public spirit 
of \'aldez. 

By arrangement with the 
proper officials in the depart- 
ments at Washington, the 
school children of the reser- 
\atioii enjo\ the use of the 
IMiblic school building at Val- 
dez, and the two districts to- 
gether employ four teachers. 
Across V^aldez Bay, some 
three or four miles from Val- 
dez, stands Fort Liscum, 
with the usual quota of 
buildings and the other acces- 
sories of an active army 
post. This is at present a 
two-company post, garrison- 
ed by a portion of the Twen- 
tj-secotul L'nited States In- 
fantr\-, and under the com- 
mand i/f Capt. Stritzinger, with the 
necessary compleirent of officers. 

The trail out of V'aldez to the inter- 
ior, up to Fairbanks, provides the one 
big pa>-roll of the territory. 

While many of the supplies sent in 
o\er the V'aldez-Fairbanks trail are 
bought outside of Alaska, still the bulk 
of them are purchased from the Valdez 
mercantile establishments, and all the 
freight mone\- is paid out at this port. 
Valdez is the suppl\ emporium for all 
the interland points to which it pro- 
vides entrance. 

All the camps need provisions and 
supplies of many kinds, nails and ma- 
chinery. In all the larger towns, more 
particularl}-, arises the demand for the 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKSIML 








Knri Lisciirii, Near Valiii'z. 
Camp iif ("laU-na Hay Miiiinij; Co. 
Three fiiaiits. Kiii^lits Island. 
Valdoz Power riant. Solomon's Gukli. 



cuniforts and luxuries of the States. 
Winter ami summer these demands must 
be met h\ the enterprising merchants. 
In summer ri\er na\igation on the '1 u- 
kun and Tanana Rivers especiall) fur- 
nishes transpurtatiim adequate prohablN 
for the immediate necessities and de 
mands of the residents; but tiiere always 
arises in winter special demand for main 
articles and goods. These can onl\ be 
supplied from Valdez. It is no unusual 
sij^lit, winter after winter, to see lonu 
sled trains carrying as many as ()()0 case- 
of eggs, carefully bo.\ed, sacked, and 
packed to resist freezing. Trains oi 
machiner\-, of iron pipe, of telegraph 
w ires, of innumerable unexpected article-- 
pass through Valdez over the trail. 
.More than a thousand tons of hay luul 
grain alone are taken hence over the 
mountains to supply the road-houses, sta- 
tions, camps, and sled trains, each year. 
Consider the ccst and value of this trans- 
portation at from ten cents to thirt\ , 
)itt\ cents, and more, and even to a dol- 
lar a pound at times to Fairbanks! Con- 
sider the 500 and more horses along the 
trail; the hundreds of men freighting 
supplies; the miners and prospectors car- 
rying provisions, tools, powder, etc., to 
their mines. Consider the sawmill and 
electric light plants of the Lasterl> 
placers on the Nizina, the sawmill, shop-^ 
and telephone plant on tlie Gre\- copper 
properties in the Kotsina. Consider the 
entire steamboat, boilers, engines, tim- 
bers and complement complete, sledded 
from X'aldez to the Copper River to be 
there set up. All these varieties of 
freight amount to thousands of tons the 
\ear: but are reckoneil here by the cost 
the pound. 

The whole of Prince William sound 
has been a business dependency of Val- 
dez. To supply the mines and lo-gging 
c:;mps, villages and settlements general 1\ 
throughout the sound, a fleet of small 
craft plying out of V^aldez has for years 
been very active, carrying both freigiit 
and passengers. During 1907, the 
height of the copper excitement, this 
fleet numbered as high as sixty power 
boats. 

\'aldcz is the commercial heart of tin- 
great copper mining districts of South- 
western Alaska. It is generall> conced- 
ed that the copper mines of the Copper 
Ri\er and Prince William sound will 
ultimately make more profits than all 
the placer mining, all the fisheries and all 
the forests of Alaska taken together, 
great as these other resources are. Cop 
per is becoming the slogan of Alaska, 
rivaling in potenc; that of gcdil. Some 
commercial propluts have gone so far as 
to predict that Alaska will become the 
greatest store-house of copper that the 
world has ever known. 

Among the more important dcvelop- 




■J^^Sus* 




I" 111- v*«i|>|jcr Ui\ I T Luiiil»--r i'*>. 
Iiitcrftir <if n Valdez Home. 
lIoiTic anil <;!anlfn. ValtJez. 
IfagBett fcV: Leahy's Denial Office. 



^'vSMt 



ar,jrr' 



ft 



THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSTIMIL 





\:ilil>/. School ChilJreii. 



mcnt projects having the mining of this 
ore as ohject, in tlie general vicinit\' of 
Vakle/., the following mining companies 
may be named : Seattle Alaska Copper 
Co.; l>atouche Extension Mining Co. ; 
Reynolds Alaska Development Co. ; 
Beatson's Bonanza, the largest copper 
mine on the Pacific Coast of North 
America; Latouche Copper Mining Co.; 
and Latouche Ishunl Copper Mining Co. 
Ihese companies are all located on La- 
touche Island, twelve miles long and 
four miles wide, and, according to pres- 
ent indications, liolding at least four- 
fifths of all the copper ore which will he 
mined in the whole of Prince William 
Sound. On Knights Lsland, the scene 
of great excitement in the rush of 1907, 
the following companies are now operat- 
ing: the Hrm of Jas. Harvey; Egan and 
Hogan; Chas. T. Rua and Co.; Valen- 
tine and Brown; The Happy Jack Min- 
ing Co.; Knights Island Alaska Copper 
Co.; IWentieth Century Mining Co.; 



Knights Island Copper Mining Co., and 
the Kni^ihts island Consolidated Mining 
Co. 

( )n the ni:iin land, ranging along tile 
coast, arc lo hr tound the following min- 
ing linns: The Ellemar .Mine; (lalena 
Hay .Mining Co.; Standard Copper Co.; 
lyandlock Ha)' Copper .Mining Co.; the 
Threemen .Mining Cit. ; S. A. ilemple's 
hiin; C'hi^na .Mining and DeNciopment 
Co.; Peter Steinmet/, Co.; .ind the Re\ - 
nidils-Alaska Development C<j. ( )n 
Fidalgo Ba\ are: Kidalgo-Alaska Copper 
Co.; .\Linhatt.in (iroup; Fitlalgo AL'n- 
ing Co.; W'halen (iroup, :ind the l.arN 
Holland (iroup. 

in (lalena Iia\ e\tensi\e operatiiHis 
ha\e been carried on by the (lalena Ba\ 
Mining Compaii). A good hydro-elec- 
tric plant has been installed here anil 
about 2,201) feet of tunnel driven. 'l"he 
main workings are about four miles 
tnjin the head of the bav. 



All of the merchants ;ind bankers ot 
V'aldez have shown their faith in the 
country by purchasing and aiding in the 
location and development of mining in- 
terests, both in the interior and on the 
sound, notably Mr. Hemple and .Mr. 
C. J. Dieringer, in the organization of 
the Knights Island Copper Mining 
Compan\ ; Mr. Snyder, one of the 
hea\iest backers in the Alaska-Kotsina 
Copper Compaii) , in a splendid propertv 
in the Kotsina copper belt; Mr. Blum 
in :l number of mining ventures of value 
and extent. 

Situated thus fortunately in relation 
lo the ccdossal copper beds of the vicin- 
it\ , \'aldez is destined to remain as it is 
ncjw, in the \ery front ranks ot .Al.-iskan 
towns, 'i'he carrying ot mails and the 
transportation of supplies to the interior 
fiinn this point maintains an industrial 
acti\ it\- that offers every incentive for the 
building up of a great metropolis on the 
south coast of the countrv. 




Photos by Cantwell. 

"What's So Rare as a Day In June?" Fair Weather — Valdez-Fairbanks Trail. 

YET, IT IS WINTER PART OF THE TIME IN ALASKA. 




THEmPFZ-FAIRBANKSTlWIL 




THE STORY OF A GREAT HIGHWAY 




AVE you ever been in 

the Northlanil during 
rlic slunt, clear ila\s oi 
tlif winter, when the 
snow, aiipearing like 
immense, wliite bhm- 
kets, covers tile moun- 
tains, plateaus, \'alleys 
and waterways. Jhen 
the country is beautitid 
— beautitui with e\er 
I hanginj: coh.r schemes, unknouri in 
warmer climes, of sunlight playing upon 
mountain tops and gl;;cier sides, great 
splashes of light in all the colors nt the 
spei-trum, in tlie early morning, and the 
deep, deep colors ot Indian reds and in- 
digo blues in the evening, shades inde- 
scribable b\ poets and unpaintable by 
the greatest artists. Such is the si'enic 
background of the constantl\ shifting 
panorama seen h\ the travelers o\er the 
Valde/.-Fairbanks Winter Trail. 

Alaska is the last of our frontier; the 
last stand of the iiard\- pioneers, the 
only l,;nd belonging to the Union where- 
in is still living the romances of Hret 
Hart, the luinior of Mark Twain's 
"Rougliing It," and the atmosphere of 
Jack F^ondon's "The (loil of His 



A Trip Over the Valdez-Fairbankt Trail 

Fathers." There are great rivers and 
stretches of plains and forests, as yet 
immarred by the works of the white man ; 
an empire sparcel\ peopled for its area, 
awaiting to be developed by men in 
whose veins is the red blood of the first 
sons of V'irginia, of the Puritans of .Mas- 
sachusetts, of the Argonauts and of the 
early settlers of Oregon and Washing- 
ton. Romance and adventure still beck- 
ons there. The land has not yet been 
bound by iron rails; the hurry and greed 
of crowded cities has not \et laid its 
mailed hanil upon it ; and its mineral and 
agricultural wealth has not \et been 
counted. 

Then \ou who are not familiar with 
the grandeur of great open places C(jme 
with us by the wa\' of the Inland Pas- 
sage by sea to the town of V'aldez, and 
thence by stage line over three luwidred 
and sixty-four miles of one of the great- 
est highways in the world, to the land 
of the \'ukon. We promise you a trip 
full of interest, beauty and comfort. 

The stages of the Ed. S. Orr Com- 
p;;n\ leave V'aldez in the early morning, 
but whether _\ou tra\el in them or with 
your own outfit, or walk, get an earl\ 
start. That is the first lesson the winter 



traveler must learn. The days are short 
and it is much easier traveling with a 
rising sun than with a declining one. 
The road out of Vaklez is wide and 
smootii and rock ballasted. I'o your 
left will be seen the famous V'aldez 
glacier just tipped with sprays of the 
light of the promised day. A few miles 
beyond tiie road passes through a forest, 
where is one of the finest stand of trees 
in all the territory. On either side, tall 
and straight, great birch rear their white 
branches into the winter's sk\ and al- 
most touch overhead. In the summer it 
is a beautiful place. 

Ten miles from town is the first road 
house, known ;is Camp Comfort. This 
is, as named, a comfortable place. It is 
a new structure, built ot finished lumber, 
and nestles among the trees, well pro- 
tected from the wind and snow storms, 
(iood meals are servetl and a comfort- 
able bed can be had b\ the behited tra\- 
eler. 

KEYSTONE CANVON. 

Shortly after leaving Camp Comfort 
the road leaves the forest and com- 
mences the upward grade towards Key- 
stone Canyon. Through this canyon 




stage of the Ed. S. Orr Stage Co. in Kront of Tlieir Office In VaUl.'z, Heady to Start for Fairbanks. 



23 




I IHLVALDL7-FAITONKSTKMI I ^ 



•'■li 



<k "' ^iSf-, ^'^ 





Risht (•.■1,1,1 IMidt., I,.v l^mtuxll; (Jllwi.s by K S. Hum 
Camp Cumfort Roaiihoiise 
Fi-ciffhtins Omfits on thp Trail 
Inl.riiif of a 'riail KiiafUiousf 



Engraving by Western Engraving Co. 

A Glimpse of \Yortman's Roadlunis.. 

'I'lie Trail on South Side of Tliomi.suiis Piss 
^•, .,-,..,,,, , Suiiscl. Coppe. fenter, Alaska. 

S< ENES AIAJNG THE VAEDEZ-PA IRBANK.S TRAIL. 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSTRAH 




■^ 



is (ini- (it tlic most interestinji parts of 
the trip. Two \i-ars :!};o there was no 
road throufjli the can.\'on ami travel was 
either b\ wa\ of the ice in the K'Tge, 
wliich was dangerous on account of the 
swift water underneath that often cut 
through the surface of the ice or caused 
deep overflows, or else the double-ended 
sleds used at that time had to be taken 
by a difficult pass over the giant rocks 
that overhang the canM)n, ami it was 
often necessary to haul them up tin- 
steeper places by block ;uid tackle. Here 
many horses have lost their lives by 
slipping over the sides of the trail into 
the chasm below. But since the com- 
pletion of the road last season a tine 
driveway follows along the gorge just 
above the waterway and the four horse 
stages traverse it with ease. 

Ribbed and jagged, the huge blocks 
of slate and granite to\\er "500 feet 
above the roadway. In their deep 
crevices hang frozen columns and spirils, 
monuments to the laughing waterfalls 
of the suniiiier months. In places over- 
head the sky becomes :; narrow ribb<Hi of 
blue and the light filtering down be- 
tween the irregular walls of the can- 
yon strike grotesque shaped boulders and 
constantly change the colors of the water 
staineil rocks. 

Just beyond the canjon, 20 miles from 
Valdez, is the settlement of \V^)rtman's. 
This is the first stage station and is one 
of the busiest places on the route. Many 
travelers spend the night here in order 
to get an earl\ morning start for the 
hardest part of the entire journe\, the 
climb of Thompson's Pass, which is the 
di\i(ie o\er the Coast Range. 

VVORT.MANS ROADHOUSK. 

The Wortman Roadhouse is one of 
the oldest established hotels on the trail. 
During the last two seasons it has been 
much enlarged an<l improved. There 
are excellent accomodations for 101) peo- 
ple. The sleeping apartments arc ex- 
ceptionally good and are furnished with 
spring beds. Baths can be had if want- 
ed. The table .service is generous. 
There is :i bar in connection where first- 
class liquors can be obtained. There is 
also a general merchandise store where 
anything can be purchased in the wa\ 
of clothing and groceries. A line of 
jewelry is kept for sale, and the tra\eler 
can even get his watch repaired if need 
be. The first telegraph station out from 
the cable office at \ aide/, is located 
nearby. Warm, roomy stables that can 
shelter over 100 head of horses are close 
to the roadhouse, and h;'.y and grain is 
for sale. 

P. .Magnuson is the proprietor and 
owner of the entire establishment locat- 
ed at Wortman. He is an old Alaskan, 
having come to the territory in 1898, and 



h.as been in the roadhouse business since 
1901. ^'ou will find him affable and 
accommodating and a man well worth 
knowing. Mrs. Magnuson is the house- 
keeper, and the two of them make trav- 
elers feel ver\ much at home. 

THOMPSON'S PASS. 

In rlie wintiT, the trip n\i-r the sum- 
mit is UKule in the d(juble-ender, single 
horse sletis, as the wind drifts in the pass 
and it is too difficult to keep it open for 
the wide stage sleds. Going over the 
pass for the first time, on a clear day, is 
an experience of intense interest. Sit- 
ting in the bottom of the sled, banked 
in with fur robes, the traveler is well 
protected from the cold air and sharp 
wind of the mo'untains. From Wort- 
man's, which is only 256 feet above sea 
le\el, the trail climbs to an altitude of 
2,714 feet in four miles. Through deep 
cuts and around the shelf's of rugged 
walls of rock the summit is reached. 
On the top is a plateau three miles in 
length. At some distance awa> , on 
either side, the mountain peaks rise in 
sharp saw-toothed shapes and the blue 
glaciers among them contrast strongly 
with the snow caps above. The gur- 
gling of the swift waters of the glacier 
streams is heard even in the coldest 
weather. 

This is the bleakest and most exposed 
portion of the road and a storm is more 
apt to be encountered here than at any 
other place on the trip. At times when 
it is perfectl\- calm in the valleys, here 
on the heights a furious wind may be 
raging, whirling the snow hither and 
thither; uncovering the rocks in places 
a"d in other places drifting and piling it 
high. But right at the summit is a road- 



house, built low to the ground and 
stning enough to withstand the hea\ iest 
winds. .Much of the time during the 
winter the snow nearly c<ners it from 
view. ( )n top of the house is a well- 
protected doorwa> and the entrance is 
made by going down stairs through the 
roof. 

The grade going down the far side of 
the pass is much more gradual and 
heasily loaded sleds are brought up it 
with ease. At the foot of the pass, 
seven miles beyond the summit road- 
house is Ptarmigan Drop, where travel- 
ers can get accommodations, if necessary, 
before going eight miles further t(j 
Bea\er Dam. 

BEAVF.R DAM. 

From the Drop to Bea\er Dam the 
roadway is excellent. Part of the way 
it follows along the beautiful Stewart 
River Canyon and is a gradual incline 
to ;',n altitude of 1 ,.?00 feet. The trail 
remains at about this level all the way tn 
(lulkana, 128 miles from N'alile/. Th:- 
Saina telegraph station has been moved 
to Heaver Dam, which makes it one of 
the more important stopping places on 
the line. The roadhouse here is ver\ 
comfortable and homelike. Its living 
room is one of the meeting places of the 
old trailers, and around the big stove 
any evening can be heard many interest- 
ing stories of experiences in far and wide 
Alaska, about the times when the trails 
were simpl\ the frozen river beds and 
mountain r:;nges the guide posts. 

Beaver Dam is one of the ( )rr Stage 
stations and is well equipped for the ac- 
commodation of guests and their horses 
or dogs. Nels Jepson has been the popu- 
lar proprietor sinse l')08. .Mr. Jepson is 




Ph.n *, P. S. Hu 



.I'-l.ri .M.<'(ar\'s (I.inlt-n, t'lipji't t',iiti-i. .Mask; 



25 




ITHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 







m 



an old timer of the earlier days of the 
trail. He came to Alaska with Capt. 
Abercrombie in 1900 and helped mark 
the base line for the trail to Eagle with 
Capt. Burnell during 1902 and 1903. 
Before going into the roadhouse business 
he was a miner on Slate Creek. Mrs. 
Jppson helps conduct the hotel. 

'J"he 'leikhell station is nine nu'les be- 
yi.iul, where there is a comfortable road- 
house. Ihere are also roadhouses locat- 
ed at lacoma, si.\ miles along the jour- 
ne\ and at Earnestine, the same distance 
finther on. Then comes Kings (Glacier 
House) after another ten miles travel. 

GLACIER HOUSE. 

The Glacier House is a comfortable 
hostlery run by Mr. and Mrs. Braxton. 
The traveler can obtain warm meals or 
lunches there at any time of the da\' or 
night. Acconnnodations can be had for 
(ift\ people and the traveler will make 
no mistake in marking this place down 
tor an over-night stop. Special accom- 
modations can be had for ladies. 

Tonsina is se\en miles beyond. The 
roadhouse there is one of the largest on 
the trail. Here is located a postoffice, 
telegraph station, and general store. 
'J'his is the junction point of the trail 
leading to the entire country lying to the 
eastward of Copper River, in which is 
situated the immense copper deposits 
which are now famous for their values, 
and also the Nizina placer country. 

WAYSIDE INN. 

Crossing the M'onsina River the trail 
leads over the new route established the 
past summer, and after traveling eleven 
miles the Wayside Inn i> reached. 'Ellis 
roadside is conducted by Paul Hansel 
and the "kids." Paul says it is a good 
place to "take life eas\." He has 
warm meals ready at all hcjurs for the 
man\ travelers who make it a point to 
stop with him. 

COPPER CENTER. 

A few miles further the trail drops 
down into the famous Copper River \'al- 
ley. Here is where the most successful 
agricultural oner.-iticjns in the entire ter- 
ritory are carried on. ( )\ er fifty home- 
steads have been located and the chief 
Government Agricultural Station, which 
has been established for some time, car- 
ries on experimental farming upon an 
extensive scale during the summer. 'Elie 
town of Copper Center is situated at the 
confluence of the Klutena and Copper 
Rivers. The latter stream is navigable 
for light draft boats to this point and it 
is expected thi'.t the Copper River & 
Northwestern Railroad Company will 
eventually operate a line of steamers 
upon it. The distance is only about 170 
miles from Cordova. Copper Center is 
the distributing point for a large section 



of countr\-, including the V'aldei^ Creek 
mining camps. 

A postoffice has been established here 
since 1901. 'Ehere is a tri-weekly mail 
service during the winter and a weekly 
mail service during the summer months. 
Ehe United States Signal Corps has its 
main supply- station at Copper Center 
for the Valdez-Eairbanks telegraph line. 
Ehe only telegraph station on the line 
between Valdez and Fairbanks is located 
here, where money car. be telegraphed 
from or money received by wire. 

'Ehere is under consideration the es- 
tablishment of a wagon road between 
Copper Center and the terminus of the 
Copper River & Northwestern Railway. 
'Ehe distance is only 44 miles, and a pre- 
liminary survey has already been made. 

Ringuald Blix is the leading business 
man of the community. He has been 
postmaster since the establishment of the 
postoffice in 1901. Besides being the 
proprietor of a general merchandise 
store and landlord of the Hotel Hol- 
iiian, he is United States Commissioner 
and :i Notary Pulilic. He came from 
Minneapolis, Minn., to Valdez in 1898, 
.anil then to the Copper River V'alley, 
where he located the first homestead 
and raised the first \egetables ever 
grown in the district. He is the pioneer 
trader and roadhouse man between 
Valdez and Fairbanks. 

From Copper Center can be seen a 
grand view of the .active volcano "Wran- 
gle." Also Mounts Sanford, Drum and 
Hlackhurn are in plain \iew ; all moun- 
tains over 1,1,000 feet high, 

I he sublime beauty .'uul graiuleui" ot 
Alaska are in her mountains. Ehe fact 
that Alaska has the highest mountain 
on the continent north ot .Mexico, .Mt. 
McKinley, 20,,'iO(J feet in elevation, and 
so big in lateral size, so massive that the 
observer fails to realize its height, is of 
itself interesting in a scenic point of view. 
But Mt. McKinley is only one of a great 
many Alaska mountains that lift their 
srioyy -covered heads into the clovids. On 
a clear day from Pedro Dome, the heart 
of the Fairbanks mining district, one may 
see across the 'Eanana Valley in the 
Alaska Range, half a dozen snow suir- 
mits, which do^not appear to be of much 
less elevation than Mt. McKinley. 1 i 
the VVrangel Moinitains there are S.SOl) 
square miles in which there are more 
than twenty' snow-covered peaks 12,000 
feet (jr more in heiglit. 

HO TEE HOEMAN. 

Ehe Hotel Holman is run on a regu- 
lar hotel plan, and the traveler can heri' 
find solid comfort and convenience. It 
is well furnished and in the main living 
room is always kept an assortment of the 
latest magazines and many metropolitan 
ilaily papers fnmi the United States. 



'Ehe dining room service is very good, 
and sleeping accommodations e.xcellent. 
Rates are low considering the high cost 
of transportation of provisions to the 
y alley. You can be very well taken 
care of here for $4.00 per day. 

Before leaving Copper Center it will 
be yycirth your while and a smile to drop 
oyer to the Copper Center Club and 
meet Charles Cowell. \'ou will find 
him yery genial and he can furnish you 
yy ith any information you wish to know 
regarding the Copper Center Valley. 

COPPER CENTER HOTEL. 

The Copper Center Hotel is situated 
upon the m.ain government trail tyvo 
miles the other side of the town. It is 
the only frame madhouse between \'al- 
dez and Fairbanks and is i^ne of the finest 
buildings in that section of .Alaska. 
About .-I year .ago the hotel yy as burne,] 
doyy u aiul has since been relnult at an 
evpense of $15,000. 'Ehere are tyyenty 
one private bed moms. These are well 
tuiiiisheil and contain spring beils, an 
unknown luxury for roadhouses in 
Alaska luitil the last tew vein's. A mod- 
ern bath is one ot the features (.t the 
establishment. 1 he bunk rooms, which 
are used when lliere are too many' 
guests to ;iccommodate with priv.'ite 
rooms, are large and comfortable. 

Ehe main living mum is a big sunny 
ap.'irtment, furnished with rugs and 
rocking chairs. The hotel is noted for 
its splendid meals. 1 he house is an 
ideal resting place and the tired traveler 
Imils a hearty welcome always awaiting 
lilm upon arrival. He c;',n have a nie:il 
or lunch served him at :niv hour. Ihe 
whole .atmosphere of the place is to 
please. 

'Ehe barns and stables are roomy and 
warm, and the traveler is assured that 
his Ikuscs or dogs are as well provided 
for in their way as himself. A farm is 
cultivated during the sumniei' and the 
truck garden is one of the finest pro- 
duced along the entire length of the 
higliwav. 

John McCreaiy t^' Sons are pro- 
prietors and have been living at this 
point for seven years. Mr. McCreary, 
Sr., was formerly in the mail service, 
having carried the mail over this part nf 
the trail during the first years of the 
service to the 'Eanana by this route, 
iiesitles the hotel business, he is engaged, 
in freighting during the winter months. 
He is one of the typical Alaska pioneers 
and the st:imp of man that builds up the 
country . 

DR^" CREEK. 

Dry Creek is sixteen miles beyond 
Copper Center and is one of the smaller 
homelike places along the line. Here 
will be seen cr.'ws, pigs, and chickens. 
'Ehat means fresh milk and butter and 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSmil 



'nm: 




eggs for tlic table. Wliat more can the 
hungry traveler demanil in an "ice and 
snow bound wilderness?" Then there 
are fresh vegetables from last summer's 
garden, which are carefully housed so 
that they are preserved in excellent con- 
dition all winter. The traveler will 
make no mistake in stopping over at Dry 
Creek. J. Lawrence and wife have 
homesteaded the place and expect to call 
it home for sometime to come. \'ou will 
find them very congenial and accnmnin 
dating. 

GULKANA. 

At (lulkana is located a first-class 
roailhouse, store, postoffice, and tele- 
graph station. It is quite a settlement 
and close at hand is an Iruh'an \ illage, 
which lends picturesqueness to the neigh- 
borhood. The Alaska native is al\\a\s 
interesting. Like the red man of the 
western states he revels in bright colors. 

Here is the jiuiction point ot tlu: 
(Jovernment trails, one leading to the 
northwest to Kagle Cit\ on the ^ ukon, 
over which the V'aldez-Kagle mail is 
carried, while the Fairbanks trail bears 
ofi slightl\ to the westv\ard. Here, too, 
is where the V'aldez Creek-Susitna River 
trail leaves the (jovernment trail, going 
to the new placer diggings in the region 
known as the X'aldez Creek district. 

C. 1^. Hoyt is proprietor of the road 
house; also merchant and dealer in furs. 
This is the supply point for quite an 
area of territory adjacent. The road- 
house is one of the Orr Stage stations 
and is known as one of the largest and 
best equipped between the termini ol 
the Valdez-Kairhanks trail. 

SOUKDOl CIL 

Twenty-tour miles nearer I'airbanks 
is Sourdough, as it is known by the old- 
timers. Mrs. N. Yager is owner and 
manager of the roadhouse, and the neat- 
ness and comfort of the interior shows a 
woman's care. Floors carefidly carpet- 
ed; sofas and rocking chairs cushioned; 
white curtains at the windows; excellent 
beds in private apartments, all proclaim 
careful care and consideration for the 
patrons of the place. 

And the meals are worth a paragraph 
by itself. Mrs. Yager's reputation for 
line cooking is heralded up anil down 
the length of the trail. The big com- 
bined kitchen and dining room is a model 
of neatness — well, once you have en- 
joyed a meal at Sourdough \()u will 
never thereafter pass the place by. 

Ol R HOMK. 

( )ur Home comes next. 1()() miles out 
from \'alde/.. The roadhouse is rightly 
named — our home for everybody — that 
is, you are made very much at home in 
this comfortable establishment. Ihe 
meals are tine and the beds excellent. 



There are also warm stables for stock 
and 26 head of horses can be housed. 
Mrs. AL \l. Birch is the present pro- 
prietor of the place and under her man- 
agement the house is becoming a very 
popular stopping place. 

MEIER'S. 

The roadw:'.y along this section of the 
tiail makes a climb to 2,750 feet above 
sea level and Meier's roadhouse is locat- 
ed among the hills, near the border of a 
mountain lake. This point is the com- 
mencement of a very rugged section of 
countrv. It is broken by abrupt val- 
leys, glacier and mountain streams. 
There are a number of creeks in the 
vicinitv that give indications of being 
good placer ground. Some little pros- 
pecting has been done, but as \et it is 
almost a virgin held itn gold hunters. 
Moose and caribou are plentiful back 
from the trail and it is a great fishing 
countrv. The streams are filled with 
mountain trout and gravling. 

The riKidhouse is a large low struc- 
ture with all of the rooms on the ground 
Hoor. It is well furnished and can ac- 
commodate about fifty people comfort- 
ablv. Mr. C. j. .Meier is the owner of 
the njadhouse and has homesteaded the 
place. It is a surprise to man\ people 
that (luring the summer months he is en- 
gaged in farming. Even at this .altitude 
ha\ anil vegetables mature. One season 
he sold :;f;l,300 worth of h.ay ofi of the 
land. Timothy and red top varieties are 
grown. Last year he cured five tons of 
ha\' anil raised three tons of vegetables. 

A st<x:k of merchandise is kept on hand 
to supply prospectors, hunters and the 
traveling public. 

Mr. Meier is another one of the cdd 
timers on the trail. He was also in the 
mail service during the first years of its 
service and can relate some interesting 
experiences of the difficidties of getting 
the mail over the line before the govern- 
ment built the highway. 

PAXSON. 

The town of Paxson is at the timber 
line of the Copper River Vallej- side of 
the Delta Summit. There has been a 
roadhouse and trading post here for four 
vears. One of the government telegraph 
stations and numerous prospector's and 
hunter's cabins help to make a little 
town. It is thought that Paxsi>n will, 
w Ithin a short time, make quite a mining 
communitv. Hoth copper and gold pros- 
pects are found in the immediate neigh- 
borhood, (julkana Creek carries much 
pay gravel and would make an excellant 
hvdraulic proposition. 

Travelers are agreeably surprised at 
the appointments of the Paxson Road- 
house. Its walls inside are sealed and 
papered. The rooms are large and sun- 

27 



ny. It contains man\ private bed rooms 
furnished with spring beds. This is the 
usual overnight stop for travelers going 
inhind, as it is best to start over the 
Delta Summit in the morning, as it is 
18 miles to the next stopping place, and 
most of the distance is above timber line. 
'I!he Delta Summit is one of the 
scetiic features of the trip. The trail 
follows a swift mountain stream for a 
number of miles, and on either side are 
the rugged mountain tops. 

YOST'S. 

The roadhouse at Yost is built right 
on the hank of the Delta River at one 
of the most exposed portions of the win- 
ter trail, but at the place where it is 
most needed. At night the big light that 
is hung outside the door can be seen for a 
long distance by the travelers coming 
from F:u'rbanks, and is a welcome beacon 
in stormy weather. The winter trail is 
upon the river ice for ten miles bevond 
^ ost s. It is a treacherous stream and is 
often covered with overflows for miles 
in places during the colder part of the 
season. Travelers with low built sUvK 
are apt to have considerable diflicultv in 
keeping their loads drv over this section. 
I iitil the Alaska Road Commission com- 
pletes the roadway from V Ost's to 
Casey's Cash, the next stop, this portion 
of the vvav will cause cimslderable anx- 
ietv. 

The roadhouse at ^ ost is conducted 
this season bv Mr. and .Mrs. H. L. Stull, 
tornierly of the Phoeniv Dining Room at 
\ aide/. Well cooked food and comfort- 
•■dilc quarters are furnished the gue.sts. 



Ml 



■R'S. 



Miller's is located upon the fine road- 
w av on the road to Donnellv's. It is 
conducted by W'ilson .Miller, and is one 
of the popular stopping places. Its ap- 
pointments are: private rooms for 16 
people ; sleeping quarters for 65 people ; 
well inside the house; heated stables. 

DONNELLY'S. 

Upon the banks of the Delta and in 
the heart of the big game country, the 
Donnelly roadhouse has maintained its 
reputation for being one of the best 
places at which to stop on the trail. .Mr. 
R. E. Shanklin is the proprietor. For 
some time he was steward an the ^ ukon 
steamboat .Monarch, luid his reputation 
.as a provider of good me:ds is well 
known. Donnellv is headquarters for 
the hunters. Ihe roadhouse is open the 
year around. From here the trail to 
Rich.irdson commences. 

GORDO.N'S. 

Gordon's Roadhouse is 16 miles be- 
yond Donnellv s. It is also in the big 
game district and H. E. Gordon, the 
proprietor, is the possessor of some of the 



F?s 



^m^ 






THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANK5 TRAIL 




PhiUci by Cant well. 



Freighting Outfits BeginiiinR the Climb Over Thompson's Pass. 




Plioto by Robinson. 



On the Trail — Great Sport When the Weather Is Clear. 

2S 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSTRAII 



y^M 




lnv}:est black be;ir skins seen in tin- tcrri- 
tiiiy. He is a famous hunter ami a cla\ 
spent with liini in the hills is a 5;reat 
day's sport. 

WASHBURN HOUSK. 

This hotel is at Washburn (Little 
Delta) and is conducted by Mrs. Carrie 
Stoner. Kverythiny; is as comfortable 
as a woman can make it, anil the meaK 
are unsurpassed. 'Ihere is a postofHce 
located here. Automobiles from Fair- 
banks c;ime within a few miles of this 
point ill the early part of last winter. 

SULLIVAN'S. 
J. v.. Sulli\an and wife coiiiluct this 
big establishment, 8fa miles from Fair- 
banks. It is the acme of roadlumsc com- 
fort; spacious rooms, big wood stoves, 
and e\er\thin^ that pleases the traveler 
after traveling in the cold. .Mrs. Sulli- 
van conducts the dining room and the 
meals arc par excellent. 

OV'ERLAND. 

Overland is 54 miles from Fairbanks. 
Accommodations can be had for 4U peo- 
ple. Vincent & .^L^tthews arc pro- 
prietors. 

SALCHAKET POST. 

Arri\ing at Munson's Roadhouse at 
the Salchaket Trading Post, the best of 
good cheer awaits the traveler. Coming 
out of the timber across the river from 
•he post in the evening, the gleam of 
electric lights greets him in the distance. 
Immediately the stage stops in front of 
the place a helping hand is extended to 
assist him to alight. Inside all is warm, 
and bright and comfortable. Here is 
conductcil a 24-hoiir service. Meals can 
be had at any time and no matter the 
hour, da)' or night, there is always some- 
one there to extend a hearty welcome. 

The hotel is under the management of 
Oscar (jardner and wife. Both are ex- 
perienced hands at caring for the Alaska 
traveling public. .Mr. Gardner is con- 
sidered one of the best roadhouse men in 
the territory. Mrs. (lardner is an ex- 
cellent cook. An overnight stop here 
means solid comfort, with some luxuries 
thrown in. Private rooms are provided 
for forty people. Hot and cold water is 




l'lMU.)HlM|ili nt' Mouiltil 



SlKMp. T^iUeii Ni':n- I imiiielly' 



supplied. Each room is electric lighted 
and contains good furniture, including 
spring beds. 

The Salchakat Trading Post carries a 
complete line of gctieral merch.andise, 
which supplies a large Indian settlement 
near by and also many pro.spectors with 
provisions and clothing. Shallow draft 
steamboats can come within a short dis- 
tance of the post, at a phice on the Sal- 
chakat Rixer called .Munson's Landing. 
Freight can be billeil through from the 
"outside " direct to this point. 

There is always on hand at the store 
a large assortment of Indian curios. The 
Indians that li\e at Salchakat are indus- 
trious and sober and their beati and 
moose skin work is among the best pro- 
duced in Alaska. Every year a large 
amount of their «ork is taken to Fair- 
banks, where it finds an excellent market. 

\Vm. F. -Munson is the proprietor of 
b(;th the hotel :ind store. He has been 
located here for five years and enjoys 
the respect and confidence of hosts of 
friends. He is also well known in the 
fur trade. The old travelers over the 
Valdez-Fairbanks trail always look for- 
ward with pleasure to their sojourn at 
.Munson's. There they know that the\ 
can always get the best the land atiforils 
in the wa.\ of eatables and drinkables, be- 
sides meeting a number of well-known 
faces. Munson's place is indeed a trail 
luxury. There is a fourth-class post- 




Traveling Into the Interior 



<.>ver the Summer U'rinl. 
29 



office here and a telegraph station is close 
at hand. At the post is a relay station 
for the Orr Stage Company. 

Oold prospectors have been in the 
Salchakat \icinity for some years, and 
while there has not been an\- large strikes 
made, considerable money has been taken 
out of the ground. The gold-bearing 
streams are Caribou, No (jrub and Port- 
age Creeks. The latter stream shows 
good hydraulic possibilities. It is an 
excellent territory for the pnjspector, 
close to a source of supply. 

PILE DRIVER. 

Pile Driver or the .^O-mile house is 
I,^ miles the other side of Munson's. 
I he place has been enlarged and greatly 
impro\ed this season and is under the 
new management of H. A. Hadley and 
John Morgan, both experienced road- 
house men. Mrs. Hadley is in charge of 
the dining room service, which is one of 
the best on the trip to Fairbanks. Good 
beds can be had for 35 people and private 
apartments for ladies. Ri-.tes are $4.00 
per da\. 

The stables here will house 48 head of 
stock and are heated. Both hot and cold 
water is obtainable. There is a govern- 
ment ferr\- operated across the Chena 
Slough at this point for the summer 
travel. 

JOHNSON'S. 

Johnson's place is 18 miles from Fair- 
banks. It is a well equipped trail house 
and .?5 people can be cared for here. It 
has been established four years and is one 
of the Kennedy Stage stations. Mr. and 
.Mrs. J. Johnson conduct the roadhouse 
and furnish their guests with first-class 
meals. The\ raise their own garden 
during the summer and have fresh 
vegetables the entire winter. There is a 
-teamboat landing at the Pile Driver and 
iiiiisiderable summer travel passes that 
wa\-. 

BYLER'S COMFORT. 

As the town of F"airbanks draws near, 
20 miles out, is Byler's Roadhouse. This 






t ' 



ft 



THEVALDEZ-FAIRRANKSTPAII 



-wrw 




m 




Scenes In Valdez, Fairbanks and Alony the Trail. 
30 



-Enaraving by Maring & Blake 




Sta Lli'arh at Xonn' 



is one ot tlic (ildcst I'stablislmu-nts on the 
trail. It is the first Orr Static Station 
and a popular stoppintr place tor the 
tra\elin}: publii.-. John B\ ler is the pro- 
prietor. 

F.AIRBANKS-.NO.Mi; TR.AII.. 

1 he Kairbanks-Tanana Trail, be- 
tween Fairbanks and Tanana ( Fort Gib- 
bon ) follows the road to Kster Creek 
ten miles and then extends northwest 
down the Tan;'.na \alley '^0 miles to Hot 
Sprinf^s, keeping: within a short distance 
of the Tanana River most of the way. 
Good roadhouses are located at Ester, 
Ohio Creek, .Minto, Tolovana, on the 
way. There are two {iood hotels at Hot 
Springs. From there to Tanana is a dis- 
tance of 37 miles. There are roadhouses 
between the two points at Sulli\an 
Creek, Fish Lake, and Long Lake. At 
Tanana are a number of good hotels and 
rooming houses. 1 his is i,ne of the best 
highways in the territory and good 
stages are run as far as Tanana. 

FVom Tanana trails go to Rampart 
and points along the Yukon northwest, 
the Koykokuk district, ami all points 
down the ^'ukon clear tO' St. .Michaels. 
'Ihe principal points along the \'ukon 
are Kokrines, .Molozi, Nulato, Lewis, 
Louden, Kaltag, An\ik, Holy Cross, and 
Russian Mission. F'rom Lewis, Nulato 
and Kaltag trails go to the Innoko and 
Iditi'.rod districts. At Kaltag the mail 
trail leaves the ^ ukon and crosses a 90 
mile portage to L nalaklik, on Norton 
Sound, and then follows around the 
sound to Nome, on the Seward Penin- 
sula. In making the trip over the ice 
from Fairbanks to Nome the traveler 
will c<,\er a dist;;nce of nearl\ 80(1 miles. 
,A journey b\ dog team to Nome is a very 
intere'iting experience'. In moderate 
weather and with a good team the jour- 
ne\ can be made with little hardship. 
Beside the towns along the route there 
are a number of Indian villages, wood 
chopper's ;;nd mail cabins, and good shel- 
ter can be had on an average of every ten 
iriles. It is not necessar\ to carr>- pro- 
visions, as a roadhouse can be reached 
every night of the journey. 'I he big 
double mail dog teams go over the trail 
twice each week ;;nd usually keep it in 
good condition. But traveling down the 



^'uk(;'n ill the winter entails some hard 
work, as in some places the trail will be 
drifted full of snow after a storm and 
the traveler must "mush" ahead of the 
dogs and "break trail" for them. A trip 
down the Yukon in the winter should 
not be attempted b\ any one who is not 
used to traveling long distances af<K>t, as 
there is always more or less walking to 
be done, either for the purpose of 
"breaking trail" or for the purpose of 
keeping warm. Exercise is more im- 
portant than heav\- clothing. In fact, 
the clothing should be light so as not to 
tire one. 

There is a fascination about the won- 
derful ^ ukon River, even when it is ice 
bound. Its banks are high and the great 
cuts and mars in them show where the 
ice Hows and high waters of each spring 
ha\e gashed and ground into their sides, 
cutting deeper each "break-up" and 
carrying awa\- the timber that grows 
close to the stream. For ages untold it 
has flowed through its two thousand 
miles of water way, now changing its 
course here, now^ there, inundating wide 
valleys one year and the next following 
close to its deep channels. Ever master 
of a broad land unmarred b\ the hand of 
the white man, while the seasons came 
and went uncounted, it ministered to the 
needs of the moose and the caribou, the 
bear and the lynx, the fox and the wolf, 
and the few Indians that paddled their 
canoes upon its surface. The only sound 
to break the stiUnes was the clash of the 
ice in the spring, the surging of th'- 
waters in the summer, the wind in the 
forests, the call of the moose or the cry 
of the wolf. 

During the past few \ears the bellow 
of the steamboat whistle has broken the 
usual stillness along the river: trading 
posts and towns have appeared upon its 
banks ; the native house of the Siwasli 
and the Igleo of the Eskimo have been 
replaced by the log cabin. Big game has 
slunk far back into the timber and only 
comes to the edge of the broad water in 
the still of the night, cautiously and 
seldom. 

ALASKA ROAD CO.MMISSION. 

'The Alaska Road Commission is a 
militar\- board empowered to construct 

31 



militar\ roads and post roads, bridges 
and trails in Alaska. An annual ap- 
propriation is made by Congress for this 
WDtk. .Major \V. 1'. Richardson is pres- 
ident of the board. 'The work of the 
Alaska Road Commission was authorized 
in 19()S, upon the recommendation of 
Major Richardson, who was familiar 
with conditions in Alaska, and realized 
the great need and \alue of roads for the 
territorv. 

'The work of the Alaska Road Com- 
mission is in those parts of Alaska where 
roads will be most helpful to the people 
that are developing the country. As the 
centers of industrial endeavor arc on 
Seward Peninsula, the ^ ukon \'alley, the 
lanana \'alle\. Southern and South- 
eastern Alaska, it is in these places an 
effort is being made by the Government 
to improve transportation facilities. As 
the most important road in Alaska is 
the overland route between \'alde/. and 
Fairbanks, this road has been put in as 
good condition as available funds will 
permit. 'This is the mail route from the 
Alaska seaboard to the interior. 

WASHINCrTON-ALASKA CABLE 
AND 'TELEGRAPH. 

The iiiilitar\ branch of the United 
States (jovernment has established a tele- 
graphic service in Alaska which covers 
most industrial centers and promising 
mining camps. This s\stem consists of 
2.^24 miles of submarine cable, I ,-W.i 
miles of land lines, and 879 miles of 
wireless. 'The cable line is from Seattle 
to Sitka, Sitka to \'alde/, \'aldez to 
Seward, with bninches from \'aldez to 
Liscum and from Sitka to Juneau, 
H.-iines and Skagwa\. From Cape Fan- 
shaw on this branch there is another 
branch line to W'rangel. Hadle> and 
Ketchik.;n. 'Ihe cable connects with the 
Land line at \'aldez : thence there is a 
double land line to Ciulkana, where it 
branches, one line going to Eagle and 
the other to F'airbanks, Fort Gibbon, 
stations on the ^'ukon, down to St. 
Michael. Between St. Michael and 
Nome there is a gap of 1 19 miles, which 
is connected In wireless. The Go\ern- 
ment is now building a double line be- 
tween Gulkana and Fairbanks. 




ITHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSTRAIL 




In this system tlicre arc fifty-two tele- 
graph offices and twelve cable offices, of 
whiili tuent\ are money transfer offices. 
DiiritiL' \ear l''()8, 9(),52l commercial 
dispatches and ,i7,S0| official dispatches 
were handled. The receipts of this line 
amounted to $206,888.85. The Gov- 
ernment business was hanilled to the 
value of $144,641.12. The United 
States Arm\ has wireless stations in 
Northern and Central Alaska at Nome, 
Safety, St. Michael, Fort (jibbon. Cir- 
cle, Ei^bert and Fairbanks, and has 
planned to establish stations at Kotlik, at 
the inoiitli of the ^ iikon. Holy Cross, 
Fort \ ukon, Bettles on the Kokukuk. 
and Steel Creek in the Fortyniile Ri\er 
country. Stations have recently been 
constructed at Wrangel and Petersburj^ 
in Southeastern Alaska. Ihe United 
States Navy has wireless stations at Sitka 
and Cordova, and the United Wireless, 
a commercial conipanv , has stations at 
Katalla, Juneau, and Ketchikan. 

The wireless is \ery successful in 
Alaska and is used as an auxiliary of the 
land system. During the winter there 
are frequent breaks in the land wires, 
caused b\- storms and heavy snows, which 
heretofore have caused dela\s in the 
transmission of telegraphic messages. 
During the past winter there was very 
little if any delay, as the wireless was 
used to cover the distances where the 
land wires were out of order. A mes- 
sage may now be sent from Seattle to 
Nome b\ the United States Wireless 
System. This message would be trans- 
mitted from the Burnside to Fort Wor- 
den, to Tatoosh, to Sitka, to Cordova, 
,ind from Cordova to St. Michael, or 
from Cordova to Fairbanks or Fort Gib- 
bon, and thence to Nome. The air line 
distance from Fort (lihbon to Nome is 
40.? miles. I he intervening countr\- is 
mountainous, but this fact does not in- 
terfere with the transmission of wireless 
messages. The land system has tele- 



graph stations at an average distance of system is a part of the military plans of 

about twent\-five miles. The gre:;t con- the United States and is under the direct 

venience of this system and the arrange- supervision and management of the 

nient of telegraph stations is shown by Signal Corps, this service has been one 

the large amount of business handled. of the most potent and useful factors in 
While the Alaska cable and telegrapl 



the development of Alaska. 



Tables of Distances between Valdez and Fairbanks, Alaska, Via U. S. Mail Route, 
Ed. S. Orr & Company Stage Line. 



Dist. 
Miles 
from 
Fair- 
banks 



364 
354 
344 
340 
333 
325 
31« 
310 

:i04 

294 
287 
280 
271 
262 
254 
246 
236 
224 
212 
198 
192 
190 
174 
156 
146 
144 
131 
119 
103 
86 
77 
63 



54 

43 

;!() 

20 

18 

9 





STATIONS 



Dist. 

bet. 
Sta. 



*tValdez 

Camp Comfort 10 

*Wortmans 10 

*Thonu)son's Pass 4 

Ptariiiigan Drop 7 

Boaver Dam 8 

*Teikh(Ml 9 

Tacoma Road House 6 

Earnestine 6 

Khiss (Glacier House) 10 

*tTonsina 7 

Wa.vside Inn 11 

Willow Creek 5 

*tCopper Center 9 

Tazlina 8 

Dry Creek 8 

*tGulkana 10 

Poplar Grove 12 

Sourdough 12 

tOur Home (Hogan's Tel. Sta.) 14 

Abbotts 6 

Meiers 2 

*Paxson's 16 

*Yost's 18 

Casey's Cache ' 10 

Miller's 2 

Rapids 13 

♦Donnelly's 12 

Gordon's 16 

Sullivan's , 17 

Tent Road House 9 

*tWashburn 
Martin's 

(Little Delia) 14 

Overland 9 

*Salchaket 11 

30 Mile House 13 

Byler's 10 

Johnson's 2 

9 Mile House 9 

*tFairbanks 9 

iuts prefixed \vi(h a * are jiostoffices. and those 



Price 

of 
Meals 



Eleva- 
tion 



$1.00 

1.0(1 
l.iin 
1.(10 
1.00 
1.00 

1.0(1 

1.00 
l.uo 

1.0(1 

1.(1(1 
1.(1(1 
1.(1(1 
1.(1(1 
1.00 
2,00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
1.50 



1.50 
1.50 
1.50 
1.50 
1.5(1 
1.50 
1.00 



10 
160 
256 
2.714 
1,685 
1,300 
1.215 

1.800 

1,175 

l.:!9(l 
1.0(15 
1.(190 
1,490 
1.350 



2,750 
3,000 

2,500 

2.000 
1.700 



900 



750 



600 



Dist. 

from 
Valdez 
Miles 





10 

20 

24 

31 

39 

48 

54 

60 

70 

77 

88 

93 

102 

110 

118 

128 

140 

152 

166 

172 

174 

190 

208 

218 

220 

233 

245 

261 

278 

287 



301 
310 
321 
334 
344 
346 
355 
364 



with t are felegrai)h offices. 








Miinsnn's Road house. V;i Idez-Fairhanks Trail. 




JHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSTRAII 



>1 




irf 



FAIRBANKS THE METROPOLIS 

The Tanana Valley Contains 50,000 Square Miles of Territory. Fairbanks Is Its 
Commercial Center and Also the Largest Town in Alaska 




|HEN arc ym !j;"'iiiL; 
back?" 'That is 
nearly al\\a\s tlu- 
rirst qiK'stion that 
one Tananite asks 
another wlien tliey 
meet an\\\liere upon 
tlie "outside. " W'lix 
(h) tliey nearl) al- 
ways jio back ? To 
tlie uninitiated — t.) 
people who ha\e never been in tlie in- 
terior of Alaska — it is hard to explain. 
The fact that they are rich or poor, 
makes little difference. There is some- 
thing — a strength — in that wonderful 
Tanana Valley, where are the greatest 
placer mines in Alaska and thousands of 
acres of exceptionall\" fertile agricultural 
land, that is more congenial to strong 
men than any other place. The town of 
Fairbanks has the atmosphere of the 
frontier ami most of the adv'antages of 
a metropolitan city. The combination 
is wholesome. The opportunities for 
abilit) and industry marvelous. 

"But the long, cold winters?" Yes, 
the winters are long and the weather is 
\ery cold part of the time. Hut real 
men don't mind that. The air is dry 
and when the sun shines it is a climate 
to glory in — and work in. \'ou have 
heard of the millions of gold that ha\e 
been mined in the Tarana. 



And the summers. Such summers! 
The long days; the clear, bracing air; 
the life on the rivers; the activities of 
the mining camps; the movements of 
the pack trains; and the wonderful 
growth of gardens and grain Helds in 
the long sunlit hours. 

And Fairbanks is the dynamo of the 
valley. This is not a eulogy, but a 
fact story of the development of a small 
portion of the northern wonderland of 
latent wealth. 

The Tanana Valley has a permanent 
population of not less than 16,00(J peo- 
ple and the town of Fairbanks averages 
(),()00 of this population. What do you 
think of a communit}' of that size that 
pa\s out over a quarter of a million tlol- 
lars per season for freight traffic alone? 

Navigation in the interior of Alaska 
is open from about the 20th of May un- 
til October 15th, and all merchandise 
from the States must be shipped during 
that period. Naturally this is a very 
hus\' season and two-thirds of all the 
business for the year is transacted with- 
in these months. There are a number 
oi merchants who only transact business 
during the summer months and spend 
their winters in the States. Also many 
mining men and their families are only 
in the Tanana during the summer. But 
a great many leave after the freeze-up, 
preferring to go out over the Valdez- 



:□ 







Soitif t)f the l*iii..ils uf llie. K<iir1)iink» S^'Itnol.s 



Kir.sl Niittonal Hank. 
.Vorihile Hotel. 
WiiNliinKtoii-.\l:i.sl<:i Itiink. 
Kalrbrinks Kirl> Ue|iaitnu'nl, 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 



1f1^- 





The Starters in the Greatest Marathon Race Ever Hold in Alaska 
Fairbanks, July 4th, 11)09. "Won by Sullivan. Time ^^ Hours :>0 Minutes 




Scene on Cushman Street. Fairbanks. July 4th. 







THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TPAII 





^ 



:s 



"*!!"Kg| 




^ 



:^ 




^ 



:^ 




^s: 



:^ 



Suimner at Fairbanks. 

Kplscopal Hospital and Mission. 

First I-oad of Quartz Ore KroiiRjit to Citi- 

zi'iis' Stamp Mill. 
Kairbanlis I'liblic Library. 
Hinlvley's Dairy. 



'Tfl^Vt'- 




Fairbanks Trail than by the more cir- 
cuitous river route. This is considered 
a pleasure trip by many, and year after 
year tlie same people leave for the out- 
side that wa)' and return by the same 
route before the break-up. Even in the 
summer months the trail is used b\ 
some. Five luindrcd people went o\er 
the tiail last September. But notwith- 
standinn the many who do not spend the 
winter "inside," the difference in the 
summer and winter population is nut 
very apparent, as man\' prospectors spend 
their winters in Fairbanks who are out 
ill the hills durin<; the summer. 

THK TANANA VALLEY. 

The lenfith of the Fanana Valley in 
a direct line is about 400 miles long, but 
following the river by its crooks and 
turns it is nearly 1,000 miles. The val- 
ley proper is from ten to fift\- miles wide, 
but including the table lands on either 
side and the entire water shed lying be- 
tween north latitude si.\ty-tvvo and six- 
ty-four is an area of over 100,000 square 
miles. This immense section of coun- 
try- is rich in mineral, agriculture and 
timber lands. Comparatively a small 
portion of its creeks have been prospected 
and agriculture is in its infancy, al- 
though one hundred and fifty home- 
steads have been taken up near Fair- 
banks and a government e.xperimental 
station has been established within a few 
miles i;f the town. A few years more 
and farming will become one of the 
staple industries of the valley. All kinds 
of vegetables and hay mature excellently 
and sell at prices that bring big wages 
for the labor of producing them. Grain 
is also grown and much of it has full\ 
matured and ripened. 'I'he gold mines 
(if the Tanana ha\e produced nearh' 
>4,000,00(). 

The Tanana River empties into the 
Yukon at Tanana (Fort Gibbon). It 
is navigable for fi\e hundred miles. The 
Alaska Range girds the valley on the 
v\cst and to the north Mt. McKinle\- 
rears its lofty summit. Ihese highlands 
are the home of big game. Herds of 
caribou cross the foot hills e\ery fall. 
Moose and bear are plentiful and among 
the higher altitudes the mountain sheep 
is found. Of the fur-bearing animals 
there are lynx, fox, wolverine and 
wolves. The smaller game are ptarmi- 
gan, rabbits, grouse below the timber 
line, and many kinds of water fowl in 
season. 'Fhe lakes and streams in the 
valle\' contain many varieties of trout 
and greyling. 

'File climatic conditions are not as ex- 
treme as is generally supposed. Fhe 
mean summer temperature is about fift\ 
degrees above zero ; the mean winter 
temperature about five degrees below 
zero. 



■"^ 




Hnmn of L. 1.,. .lames. 
Residonn- of W. II. Kellopg. 
Interior Hr. Myers' Home. 
Hesidenre of lliii'y McDonald. 
Kesidenco of Harry Cribb. 



>^ 



.^ 




-f 



o 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 





intt^iior Tanana 

FAIRBANKS. 

CluMia is twi) huiulred miles from 
the moutli of the Tanana River. At 
this point the heavy draft steamers dis- 
charge their freight. Fairbanks is situ- 
ated on an arm of the river ten miles 
above Chena and only small, light-draft 
steamers, especially constructed for the 
purpose, come to its water front. 

Fairbanks is an incorporated tmvn, 
and is governed bj- a mayor and city 
council. As much interest is taken in 
local politics as in any live town in the 
Middle West. The intelligence of its 
busine.ss men is above the average and 
the\' are wide awake commerciall\'. 

Fairbanks has four large general mer- 
chandise establishments, seven exclusive 
wholesale houses, eight retail groceries, 
five dry goods stores, six clothing stores, 
six hardware and machinery houses, four 
drug stores, cold-storage plants, book and 
stationery stores and numerous other 
places of business. There is an excellent 
bar association. The physicians and 
dentists are graduates from the best co'l- 
legcs in the United States. 

The city has an excellent water sys- 
tem, which is kept open for frre protec- 
tion the entire year by means of steam 
pipes laid along the ground next to the 
water mains. There are two steam 
heating and electric lighting plants with 
sufficient capacities to supply heat and 
light to all of the business houses and 
most of the residences within the city 
limits. A telephone system covers the 
city and co^nnects with the towns and 
mining plants at differeiu creeks. 

The cit\' has splendid public schools 
and a fine librarv. 'Fhe moral tone of 



Club. Fairbanks. 

the community is extremely good for the 
frontier. The churches are Catholic, 
Kpiscopal, Presbyterian, Methodist and 
Christian Science. These denominations 
all have comfortable buildings in which 
they conduct services. Two'- modern hos- 
pitals are conducted by the Catholic and 
Episcopal churches. 

There is a Masonic and an Odd Fel- 
lows lodge, an aerie of Eagles, a camp 
of the Arctic Hrotherhood and a Har- 
monic Society. There is one theatre, 
two public halls and a pavilion. The 



Tanana Club is a strong social organi- 
zation of tlie business men and miners. 

There are two daily papers published 
in Fairbanks. The\' are up-to-date in 
every particular and their appearance is 
an excellent indication of the progress- 
iveness of the people. Telegraphic news 
is brought over the United States tele- 
graph lines from the cable station at Val- 
dez. There is also a wireless telegraph 
station in the city. The Miner's Bulle- 
tin is a weekly devoted to union labor 
and has quite a large circidation among 
the empl(j\ed miners. The Alaska 
Churchman is a monthl)' magazine is- 
sued by the Episcopal Church and is 
sent to all parts of the United States and 
to many foreign countries. 

Fairbanks is well proud of her hotels. 
Such hostel ries as the Nordale, Pioneer, 
Third Avenue and the Shaw House 
are a credit to an\- town the size of Fair- 
banks. 

Three banking houses conduct a 
large and conservative banking business. 
They handle most of the gold that is 
mined in the valle\" and furnish exchange 
on the leading banking houses in all 
parts of the world. 

THE SEASONS. 
Now comes the winter, which creeps 
in graduall)' as the days grow shorter. 
By October still water has frozen and 
November sees the rivers solid enough 
for the winter traffic. After the heavy 
snowstorms of the early part of the 
season the still, clear weather of the 
Tanana winter settles down. It is a 
beautiful winter. There is little wind 
and the air is drv. The days are short; 




111 llio :ibove pliotograjili, taken at No. 17 Goldstreani. are: Judge Wiekersliam, Major 
(ien. Bell, L. L. James. Major Richardson, Stephen Birch, W. H. Parsons, Falcon 
Joslln. K. E. Kellogg". Huey M<-I>onald. T^a Montagne, Mrs. Francis J. Heney, Mrs. 
Gen. Bell, Mrs. W. H. Parsons, Mrs. U I-. James — Photo by Huey. 



3^Si3^ 




-'-■^ 



-? 



Ft 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRML 



'n 




4-r 



_i 



in Dfceinber tluTt- are only six iir scvpii 
hours of sunli^;lit; the rush of tile <n)i'ii 
season has j;iven phice to the sU)W, easy 
life of the dull season. In town tlie 
stores open hite and close early. The 
citizens have plenty of time for social 
enjoyments and there arc no places where 
communities are more socialile than in 
the towns of the Tanana \'alley. 

The city of Fairbanks is one blaze of 
liflht at nijihttime. 'I'lie streets are well 
lijihted with electric street lij;lits and 
most of the store fronts and many of 
the residence fronts are illuminated. 
Kver\ night the social halls contain some 
kind of social gatherings. One night it i^ 
the joyous, old-time dance; anothet 
night it is amateur theatricals: tlien 
there are basketball and curling matches 
and skating parties. With home parties, 
card parties and lodge and club enter- 
tainments, a winter spent in Fairbanks 
is more nearly a round of pleasure than 
in any town upon the "outside" for peo- 
ple of moderate means. Being away 
from the rest of the world, as it is in 
a way, people become better acquainted 
and there are not such close social lines 
drawn as in many places. Snobbishness 
is not tolerated. The people of the 
North only demand that you are honest. 

Christmas in Fairbanks is the c)ld- 
time Christmas, with its snow and ever- 
greens and sleds and horses and Christ- 







7rtW^> 



CurUiig oil lie ill P'roiit <if 'I'ohii. 

mas trees and children — and a real li\e 
Santa Claus that comes to town from 
out of the far north each year and makes 
glad the hearts of hundreds of the Tan- 
ana's he,ilth>- joungstcrs. 

Then after the new year comes Feb- 
ruary, March and the break-up. In 
April the ice tumbles down the river 
and the smell of the green birch is in 
the air and the wonderful color 
schemes of the spring comes with the 
longer days. The* valley awakes to 
sterner things. Hundreds of winter 
travelers come into the town. Sleds are 
stowed away for the summer and the 
pack trains and heavy freight outfits take 
their place. The Tanana V^ailej Rail- 
road increa.ses its daily train schedule 
and life is very much like the mining 




Officers Kairlianks Aerie, V. O. 



1908. 



centers of California, Colorado and the 
Black Hills country. 

The clean-ups of the winter mining 
(lumps are in full swing at the different 
creeks and every da\' brings thousands 
of dollars worth of precious metal to 
the local banks. The big summer plants 
commence operations, furnishing work 
for hundreds of men at good wages. 
Prosperity permeates the very atmos- 
phere. 

A little later the first steamboats of 
the Northern Navigation Compan\- and 
the .North American Trading & Trans- 
portation CiiUipany come up the Tanana 
from the ^"ukon. These boats carry the 
early freight from the "outside" that has 
been shipped b\ the White Pass Route 
via Dawson, and the cargoes are mostl)' 
fresh garden truck, fruit, eggs and 
meats. Shortl)' afterwards the heavier 
draft steamers from the lower Yukon 
begin to discharge their freight at 
Chena, the most of which is afterwards 
brought up to Fairbanks b\ the lighter 
draft steamers. Thereafter for three 
months, da>' and night, the silence of 
the river is broken b\ the bellow of the 
steamboat whistles and a traffic of some 
-;4,(MI0,()()I) worth of merchandise, 
which is annualh con.uimed in the Tan- 
ana Valley, is hurried by the "Salmon 
'Frail" to Fairbanks, Chena, Hot 
Springs and other points along the 
river. 

'File independent boats, such as the 
Minneapolis, the Julia B., the W'hite 
Seal, the Martha Clow, the Tanana, 
etc., make a number of trips each sum- 
mer with merchandise and passengers to 
the Innoko, Iditarod. Koyukuk, Upper 
'I'anana and Kantishr.a. All this, in con- 
junction with the small motor boats 
and other small craft, make the life upon 
the river the most important thing in the 
development of the new country. 

To the stranger a summer spent in 

37 



the T"an;;na is very interesting. '1 here 
he will meet men from all parts of the 
world, a cosmopolitan population of a 
high order of intelligence. Miners and 
business men who have mined and traf- 
liced in South Africa, South America, 
Australia and in the big mining centers 
of the United States and Canada. And 
most of them will tell him that Alaska 
is the greatest field of endeavor for men 
of big ideas and who are not afraid to 
work, of any place on earth. 

(^ut on the creeks will be seen the 
biggest placer mining plants in the 
world. Sixty horse power boilers and 




J2.000 mack Fox .Skin, the Property of 
.\lie .Stein. 

ilouble drum hoists are m<.stl> used and 
at some of the claims pay dirt is hoisted 
up from two hundred-foot levels. At 
many of the plants the huge self dump- 
ers carry the dirt dircctl\' to the sluice 
bo\es and clean-ups are made two and 
three times a week. As many as one 
hundred men are cmplnvcd in scmic nf 
the plants. 







THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 






-XiMliTson's Drug Store. 



I>ave Court! 



\iininMil,il,. 





Roliert T.:i\'er>'"s Grocerj'. 



One (if the Leadins Wliolesale Grocers. 





MACHINERY. 

iiiiiMMo^iil: HAMILTON JKSKELLDGD 







Li. K. l*rulzman's l^uiLior t:ilc)n 



(Hie ol' Fairbank'.s l.arge.st 1 ii.stitutlon.s. 



FAIRBANKS, AL.VSKA — A Ml U HORN CITY. 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 



'tl-^- 



■12L 




PROSPECT OF A RAILROAD TO INTERIOR 



Resources Sufficient to Induce Investment of Capital 




HAT lack of trans- 
portation more than 
any other agencj' is 
responsible in rc- 
tardinfj the develop- 
ment of Alaska, is 
concedeJ by any one 
at all familiar with 
Northern affairs. 

For the lack of 
proper transporta- 
tion facilities the 
jjreater portion of an 
empire of mineral 
resources lies dor- 
mant of industry. 
Kvery Congressional 
committee, ever y 
^(uernment official, 
indeed even the cas- 
ual visitor to Alaska, 
as clearly as the resident, sees the urg- 
ent necessity of building railroads to 
promote the territory's proper growth. 

In the interior of Alaska the great 
cost of moving freight by team from 
points on navigable waters, together 
with the difficult\- and uncertainty of 
moving it at all, constitutes the main 
obstacle to the growth and development 
of the district. The cost, when it can 
be done at all, ranges from one dollar 
with first-class wagon roads to ten dol- 
lars a mile for each ton on trails and 
streams. 

For this reas<Hi of all the \ast rich 
area of Alaska onlv a very narrow 
fringe along navigable waters has been 
<leveloped to any extent. Fifty miles 
from the coast or from a navigable river, 
no matter how rich the soil or how allur- 
ing the prospects, the pioneer must leave 
it alone until better transportr.tion can 
be obtained. It is true the prospector 
with pack on back has penetrated every 
quarter, however remote, and found and 
located vast seams of coal, great fields 
of gravel carrying gold, ;',nd ledges of 
copper and gold-bearing quartz, but can- 
not work them or extract their wealth 
until railroads come. 

Alaska should have within the next 
few years at least ten thousand miles 
of railroads providing arteries of com- 
merce from the great valleys of the in- 
terior to the seaboard. It needs imme- 
diatel> a trunk line from the tidewater 
on the South c<iast to central points on 
the great navigable ri\ers of the in- 
terior. 

Several projects have been afoot dur- 
ing the past few years looking toward 
the establishment of such a main arter\ 



of commerce. Three routes for the con- 
struction of a railway into the interior 
have been deemed feasible, namely : 
through the Susitna V^alley, the Copper 
Ri\er and the Chilkat V'alle\-. The 
length of such a line would be approxi- 
mately five hiuidred miles. Through 
tv\(i' (jf these valleys railroads have al- 
ready been started : the Susitna and 
the Copper River. Seventy-five miles of 
track has been laid on the former and 
one hundred miles on the latter 
route. 

The exorbitant concessions ilemanded 
by private capital as an incentive for 
railway construction in this field of un- 
estimated latent wealth and large op- 
portunity, should offer cause enough for 
the government to engage in such an en- 
terprise on its own accord. Other gov- 
ernments have found it extremely profit- 
able to undertake railway building. 
Mcn-e than 5,000 miles of railroad is 
under construction in the Canadian 
provinces on approximately Alaskan alti- 
tudes. The Russian government has 
built over 10,000 miles of road in com- 
paratively barren Siberia. Our own 
government has but recently been the 
guarantor for the construction of over 
1,000 miles of road-bed in the Philip- 
pine Islands. Alaska compares favor- 
ably with an\- of these countries. It is 
five times the area of the Philippines, 
and its trade with its hanilful of peo- 
ple is three times as great as that of 
the islands. 

There should be government aid for 
the construction of at least 2,000 miles 
of railnjad in Alaska. This does not 
in\()l\e land grants or subsidization, 
however. It is not necessary to do this 
in order to insure railway construction. 
The United States government has al- 
ready demonstrated that subsidization is 
not necess:;ry. In the Philippines a plan 
guaranteeing the interest at four per 
cent on the cost of construction and re- 
taining a lien for any payments which 
might be made, has been followed with 
remarkable success. 'I'he same thing 
might be done in Alaska. No bonus of 
lands or money need be given, simpl\- 
governmental credit to tide over the in- 
fancy of the road's development. If the 
roads prove<l profitable and earned their 
interest, then there would be no pay- 
ments by the government. It is a per- 
fectly just method of encouragement and 
may be opened for competitive bidding 
as was done in the Philippines. The 
rates and operation of the roads could 
be made subject to the control of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission. 

39 



Falcon Joslin, President of the Tan- 
ana V^alley Railroad, has said regarding 
the extension of these rail lines into the 
interior: "It is believed the roads 
W(juld become among the most profitable 
in the world." Their course would be 
laid through probabl\- the most valuable 
mineral lands in the world. The road- 
bed would naturally be engineered to 
follow as closely as possible the mineral 
leads, and it is believed that a station 
could be established every twenty or 
thirty miles along these routes, and that 
gold and copper or coal mines wouhl be 
o|H-ned near every station. Such lines 
would tap a country producing more 
gold than California, holding more cop- 
per than Montana and more coal than 
Pennsylvania. 'Fhis wealth of resources 
\\ouI(l insure an extremely profitable 
traffic for railroads. It is well known 
that a mining district produces far 
greater tonnage than an agricultural 
country. A single mine will produce 
as much tonnage as hundreds of square 
miles of agricultural lands. And Alaska 
IS full of mines, waiting to be developed 
and to have their ores shipped to the 
markets of the world. 

The construction of 2,000 miles of 
railwav would within a year or two 
multiply the country's present popula- 
tion manv times, and its present trade 
ot ,^60,000,000 per vear would rise to 
probably $200,000,000 or more within 
a very short time. The entire nation 
would feel the stimulus of this volume 
ol domestic trade and be benefited. 

The position of the people of Alask.i 
is strikingly similar to that of Califor- 
nia in the early djivs, and the time has 
come when the_\ have a right to demi'iv.l 
some attentions from the government, 
(lood trails and wagon roads have been 
provided by the government in the 
Noiiii. Why cannot railroads he pro- 
vided in a similar manner? \Vhv can- 
not the Philippine plan be followed in 
our northern possession? This is a prn- 
pitious time for the government to es- 
tablish a new precedent in the mMt:er 
of encouraging railway building. In the 
days of extension of oim' western fron- 
tier toward the Pacific the gifts of land 
to the transcontinental roads was justi- 
fiable, it was fair. At that time railroad 
building and operation had not become 
a very exact science. It was the experi- 
mental age of railroading. Steam traf- 
fic was itself in its infancv. .Now con- 
ditions are different. What w.is prop- 
er governmental encouragement in that 
day would be simply "pie" in this day. 



^s^3r 




Y"^ 






THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 




W^^ 



2^ 




pi,> 



J'lCTORIAL. S'JMJKV I'l.AiJKi; ilL.M.NG IN TANAXA, 



Zngravtnf ir \L,,,n, S/ Bhiir 



Pi-oiicity rniciii Mining Co., 17 Golfistream. T^. T.. Jiimes owner; Geo. La Montagne layman. AVinter diimp.s on No. H Below 
Diinu'. Jiilm JO. llcilnigreen owner, ("artier In action on No. 16 GoUlstream. Aulert il Co.. owners. Baltory of Points, untler- 
arounil, I'nioii Mining Co, Mining untlerground, No. 3 Above Fairbanks, Meehan & Larson owners. 



40 




-^v 



ft 



THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 




PLACER MINING IN THE TANANA 

District Has Produced Nearly $50,000,000 in Gold in Seven Years 




I ) miali has hecii u rit- 
tcii lefiardini: the 
I'laicr Mines ot tlic 
Tanana \'alle\, tliat 
\cr\ little space is 
^i\eii to tile subject 
here. 

I here ha\e been 
se\en \eais of active 
mining in the valley. 
DHiring this short 
period, despite the difficulty of getting 
machinery on the placer ground, the 
total gold product of the district has 
amounted to nearly $S(),0()(),()()(). Com- 
paratively a small portion of the placer 
area has been prospected. 

The most valuable deposits so far have 
been found in the vicinity of Fairbanks, 
and in most, cases the pa.\' streak is deep 
beneath the surface. There has been 
comparatively little open-cut mining 
done. Most of the work has been done 
b\ drifting. .Mines are operated where a 



shaft as deep as 180 feet is sunk to reach 
the pa\ streak. On Chatanika Ri\er 
there is a shaft .^5 feet deep. 'Ibis shaft 
cuts several auriferous gravel strata, and 
prospecting is under way to determine if 
any of these strata contain sufficient pay 
to be profitably operated. It is obvious 
that old channel deposits of auriferous 
gravel, lying :'.t a depth of from twenty 
feet to 1 80 feet beneath the surface of 
the earth, require much time and labor in 
prospecting. The miners who hunt for 
these pa>' streaks have courage and faith 
in the country. 

The principal producing creeks in the 
Fairbanks District are Clear\ , Fairbatiks, 
Fster, Dome, Goldstre.".m. Pedro, \'ault, 
Little Eldorado and P^ngineer. 'Fhere 
are a large number of streams of lesser 
importance at present, but further pros- 
pecting may place them in the list of large 
producers. Clear\ Creek has produced 
more gold than any other stream in Alas- 
ka. The \ ield from this stream is prob- 



abl> 5t; 1 0,000.1 100, aiul the stream is only 
seven mdes long. 

Possibl\ (loldstream is the most prom- 
ising of all these creeks, as it is forty 
miles long. Only a small section of it 
has been prospected, but there are indica- 
tions of a continuous pa\' streak. Should 
this pa\ streak prove to be continuous 
the entire length of the stream it will un- 
(juestionably be the biggest producer of 
the gold-bearing creeks in the North- 
land. 

Import.int discoveries recently made in 
the Hot Springs .Mining District, 100 
miles west of Fairbanks, indicate that a 
large (|u;uitit> of gold will come from 
this region next season and during many 
succeeding \ears. The gold-bearing 
streams of this district are Sullivan. 
Thanksgiving, (jlen. Eureka and Baker. 
Operations have been under wav for 
some time to mine the gold in Glen and 
Eureka Creeks, but Sullivan Creek is a 
(Continued on Page 56.) 




'f^irl'i 




Phottt tr Htitf 



Winter Dumps. Cloldslream .Vul>crt & Voegtiln Propert.v. Ni>. l.i in Koreground. 
Placer Groiiml on Engineer Creek, Property of Cascadcn & Jann'son. 
Part of Owl .\ssociatlon, Engineer Creek. Sam Hagan's Plant. 

41 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 




p T 






THE QUARTZ OF THE TANANA VALLEY 




I K invariable ruK- has 
been that p 1 a c c i 
mining lias been 
s\iL'ceede(l by iiuart/ 
niining and the pni- 
■ liiction may be ex- 
pected til increase, 
rather than dimin- 
ish. * * * Th- 
history of the Klon- 
dike is too brief \ et 
for any theor\ to 
work out. and in the Tanana we are in 
the ver\ infancy oi the industry. You 
may stand tomorrow on Pedro Dome 
and know that from within n circle 
whose radius is 10 miles has cunie one- 
third of all the placer gold produced in 
the United States since l'?04." 

These words, written two years ago, 
by Frank W. Hawkins, gold-dust ex- 
pert of the Washington-Alaska Hank of 
Fairbanks, probably the best informed 
man on the subject of Tanana placer 
gold and its production, true at that 
time are even more significant at this 
da\' when twent\ millions more haw- 
been added t<i the world's wealth from 
the frozen gravels of the district sj 
terseh' described. 

They are gi\en here because they 
epitomize the idea upon which this ar- 
ticle is based and because their author 
has advanced the best Inpothesis yet 
heard upon which to predicate a work- 
ing theory for the development of the 
quartz of the Fairbanks district. 

Pedro Dome, be it known, is the high- 
est point in the vicinity of Fairbanks 
and lies in the heart of the gold produc- 
ing area of the Fairbanks Mining Dis- 
trict. Whether it is the worn off stub 
of a row of jagged fangs that once 
reared ice-capped points in the Arctic 
night or is the summit of an intrusive 
mound forced from the molten depths of 
the earth, is a geological query yet to 
be sohed, but certain it is that a more 
or less unvar\ing line drawn through it 
to Coffee Dome on the eastern extreme 
and to Ester Dome iwi the western limit 
of the placer fields will pass across or 
near the known ijuartz deposits of this 
section. 

This fact ma\' have no significance 
beyond being a coincidence and yet 
again it may be the \'ery nub of a great 
truth. 

.Mr. Hawkins sees in it the basis of 



By F. E. BECKER 

his theory on tlie origin of 'Fanana pla- 
cers. He sees a great mineralized belt 
where quartz ledges, fixed in their an- 
cient beds ha\e slo'Ughcd off the golden 
fragments which restless elements car- 
ried to bed rock channels. 

He believes in the existence of a great 
mineralized d\ke of intrusive matter 
stretching across the country, forced up 
along the line of least resistance wherein 
lie the veins and lodes which fed tlie 
wiinderful placer deposits of Dome 
creek, Fairbanks, Cleary, Pedro, Ester 
and other creeks of this ilistrict. 

File tlieor\' is necessarily general foT 
quartz mining in the i anana is not 
e\en in its infancy; it is In embryo. 

^'et, in spite of this the developments 
of the la.t twche months have tended 
in a wr.v to support this theory and it 
may be confidently asserted that the 
work of the next few years will demon- 
state its entire soundness. 

Branching out Irom a focusing point 
alniO'St as the spokes of a wheel, five of 
the producing creeks of the district, 
among which are three of the stars, run 
in different directions from Pedro Dome 
whence come the head waters. 

Fhey brought their placers from the 
higher levels which is the same as say- 
ing tlie\' must ha\e brought them from 
Pedro Dome itself, or from its near 
vicinity. 

It is a iratter of knowledge that the 
creeks heading on Pedro Dome have no 
monopoh on placer protluction. Ester 
Creek, heading on Ester Dome, 20 miles 
awa^•, has been one of the rich producers 
while In between at haphazard intervals 
other creeks have been found where the 
gravels have yielded their hidden trea- 
sure. 

But as contradicting the theory that 
the sources of these placers lie in irregu- 
lar and indiscriminate deposits of ledge 
natter comes the direct proof that well- 
defined leads ha\e been fovnid near Ester 
Dome and Pedro Dome with a strike, 
traced for a considerable distance in a 
line conforming to the imaginary one 
heretofore described. 

The pioneer quartz discovery which 
first brought the matter of quartz pos- 
sibilities seriously before the public was 



the SkoogN (julch find of E. W. Herch- 
herger, made in September, 1908. 

Skoog\ lies close under Pedro Dome 
on the southeast slope and the ledges 
unco\ercd there are among the most 
promising In the district The work 
done there has uncovered veins in place, 
rich in free gold, with continuity of 
strike and dip, furnishing ample in- 
centive to men with quartz knowledge 
to justify the expenditure of consider- 
able money In de\elopment. 

Across the ridge and still clinging 
to O'ur Imaginar)' line we come to the 
head waters of Clear\ where, along a 
series of short creeks and traxersing them 
in a uniform direction there extends a 
well-defined local zone consisting of a 
series of \eins of varying richness where 
are now located some of the most valu- 
able quartz mines in the Fanana. 

( )n these creeks. Willow, Bedro'ck, 
Chatham and Wolf a number of com- 
panies, formed last year, lia\e done con- 
siderr.ble work, expending money as it 
could be secured from a few of the 
iaithful, ;uid now .-ifter the expiration 
of a \ear from the real beginning of 
the work, it can be said that they have 
real quartz mines. 

The property of Rhodes and Hall 
on Bedrock where a \em of great rich- 
ness has been tracetl through both end 
lines of the claim and followed to a 
depth of a hundred feet with a width 
of about 4 feet, at its greatest depth, 
where it was found to be expanding, is 
pronounced by experts, who have exam- 
ined it, a claim of great potential value. 

A fi\e-ton run of ore from this mine, 
put through the 3-stamp citizens' test 
mill in Fairbanks without attempt to 
save the concentrates, brought better 
about $250 to the ton. 

The properties of the B.-P. Mining 
Co., Pioneer AL Co., Tolovana M. 
Co., T.-uiana Quartz & Hydraulic M. 
Co., Jupiter-Mars AL Co., and many 
others that were Incorporated at the 
time of the first quartz boom and which 
lia\e been developed as funds could be 
secured, are showing up with var\'ing 
richness, but in all Instances It might 
be said the work of the properties has 
been such as to give fullest encourage- 
ment and to leave them only anxious 
to proceed further. 



>^^ 






THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 



in 



4' 



-^w 



?!?1 



AN ASSAYER'S STANDPOINT ON QUARTZ 




|i;.\KRAI.L\' spi-iikin-, 
an assayer's opportun- 
ities for knowing; tin' 
tpiartz mines in his 
district are necessa- 
rily limited to sam- 
ples selected b\ 
others. He does not 
know whether the sample is fair or 
prejudiced ore way or the other. The 
true sampler is a machine and very few 
persons c;;n hold themselves to a true 
sample. In the case of the writer, the 
advantage has been available to compare 
results from samples with actual mill 
tests on lots of a ton or upward. For 
several months, our firm hail charjie of 
the citizens' stamp mill and, althou;rh 
most of the results were ostensibly made 
public, we were in position to know. 
However, the writer does not wish to 
be understood as betrayin«; professional 
secrets, or including in this article an\ 
data without special permission. All 
fifjures used are either a matter of pidi- 
lic knowledge or have been specially 
authorized. 

It would, perhaps, be well to classi- 
f\' the different characters of ore re- 
ceived by us and treat them under sep- 
arate lieads. I will use for the classi- 
fication, first: The so-called free-mill- 
inp or partially free-milling quartz, the 
values in which being confined to gold 
and siher: seciwidly, the lead-silver ores 
tjpilied by deposits of argentiferous ga- 
lena on Chatham and the head of Clea- 
ry ; thirdl\, copper-bearing ore, and last- 
ly' the rarer minerals for which there 
is of late an augmented demand. 

Up to date, the first class is b\ far 
the inost important, owing to the fact 
that no great outlay was necessary to 
ascertain values by a practical mill test. 
There are at least six different proper- 
ties that have made such tests to supple- 
ment assays and have found that their 
rock yielded $50 a ton or better in free 
gold. It should be borne in mind that 
no attempt has been made to save tail- 
ings for concentration except by .Mr. 
Lucien Rhodes. Samples of his tailings 
were saved and concentrated on our 
table of the W'elfley type, more as an 
experiment than otherwise. The con- 
centrates, however, were valuable and 
represented probably 3 per cent, of the 
ore. There is no doubt but that other 
properties have \aluable concentrating 
ore, but as the Citizens' Mill is equip- 



By L. M. DRURY 

pcd with plates only for saving values, 
such concentrates liave been lost. 

Specific information is always tin- 
most desirable, so the following data w ill 
be given : fl' 

Assays niaile for K. \V. Herchberger 
on nak from his Cleary Creek proper- 
ties show from a few dollars up to 
$2()b.78 a ton, while a mill test on 
tons of ore gave returns of $5(1 per 
ton in free gold. His concentrates have 
rot been tested, to my knowledge. 

The Eva Creek ledge, on which S;nii 
Moe and partners liave been working, 
has returned good values from assays 
and a mill test on one ton of ore showed 
practically $50. 

.Mr. Frank Lawson, of Fairbanks 
Creek, has had several good samples as- 
sayed and mill tests actually .show close 
to $11)0 a ton free gold with money 
still in the tailings. 

Madden & Whitman, of Skoogy 
(julch, have had definite returns from a 
test lot in the Citizens' Mill that 
showed close to $100 a ton, while the 
tailings contained several dollars. 

Not having seen Air. Rhodes in re- 
gard to using assays made for him, the 
writer is imable to use some very en- 
couraging figures. It is a matter of 
record, though, that a recent mill test 
on 5 tons of quartz netted him $250 
a ton after a large outlay for power, 
water and transportation. It was on 
this lot that the concentrates were test- 
ed and showed a valuable prfnluct. The 
ore was from the Bedrock Creek prop- 
erty. 

Assays made for Tolovana Mining 
Co. show values from a few dollars up 
to $28.19.87 a ton. This last was a 
pulp simiple. Concentrates from the 
sane property, obtained by panning af- 
ter extracting free gold by amalgama- 
tion, gave results of $Q5.00 per ton. The 
per cent, of such concentrates is not 
avail;ible. This property adjoins the 
property of Rhodes & Hall. 

Very similar to the rock of Rhodes 
& Hall and the I'olovana .Mining Co. 
is the ore taken for the Pioneer Quartz 
Mining Co. and the Jupiter-Mars Min- 
ing Co. The Pioneer Quartz .Mining 
Co. was the first to use the Citizens' 
Mill, anil though a large percentage of 
their values was lost in tailing during 
the experimental stage of the mill and 

43 



during readjustments, the showing made 
by the ore was satisfactory. In fact a 
laboratory mill test on a seven-assay ton 
sample of their rock yielded values close 
to' $4,000. In this, the ore shows simi- 
larity to other properties near, in that 
the ore grades from a few dollars up to 
specimens of picture rock. 

Other properties situated on Skoogy 
(lulch have run test lots through the 
mill to confirm assays and the results 
were not discouraging, although actual 
figures are withheld from the public. 

I'nder the head of the first class, 
1 will mention that on certain placer 
claims in this district, the black sand or 
placer concentrate shows a large amount 
of sulfides of iron that run from $800 
to $3000 a ton. Later, there will prob- 
ably be found a valuable deposit of con- 
centrating ore. 

Before we pass to the second group, as 
lack of space prevents mention of many 
promising assays, the following facts 
should be emphasized : Considering the 
small amount of work done on quartz in 
this vicinity, the general distribvition of 
commercial ore and tiie fact that all 
values found by mill tests so far are ab- 
solutely the minimum, the showing is 
worthy of serious thought. 

The second class of ore typified by the 
silver bearing galena on Chatham and 
the head of Cleary is by no means an 
unimportant one. Assays on ore from 
the head of Cleary have given $27 a ton 
in silver and gold, the lead not being 
figured. The percentage of lead would 
probably run from 40 to 60. There is 
also a large deposit of m.-.ssive galena 
some 100 miles from Fairbanks which 
I am not at liberty to describe or lo- 
cate, except that the values run over 
$100 and the ore itself is an iilcal smelt- 
ing proposition. 

The Silver King properties in the 
Koyukuk district are more than worthy 
of mention and certificates of assay al- 
ready made public show values around 
$80 per ton. This is also an ideal 
smelting ore. 

As yet, the best showing for copper 
comes from the Tanara slope of the 
mountains less than 100 miles south 
of Fairbanks. A sample taken across 
a 30-foot face of an ore-bearing forma- 
tion yielded 7.2 per cent, copper — n won- 
( Continued on Page 56.) 



m 



mw^ 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 




m 




Photoi h P. .V. Hunt 



Turnips (irown Near Noiiir. 

Potatoes From Copper River Valley. 

Lettuce Grown at Valdez. 



Engraving by ^luring Sf Blair 

Cauliflowt'r Grown at Valdez. 
Potatoes Grown iiear Valdez. 
Turnips Grown at Valdez. 



■kfl^l^r ' 



Ig-f-^ff L IHbVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 




THE AGRICULTURE OF INTERIOR ALASKA 

By C. C. GEORGESON, Special Agent in Charge of Alaska Investigations 




NTKRIOR ALASKA 

comprises the rei^ion 
north of the coast 
range. It is an em- 
pire in extent, ricli in 
a wealth of natural 
resources. It is un- 
necessary to speak of 
the gold, copper, coal 
and other minerals 
louiul in this terri- 
tory. I shall here confine myself to the 
agricultural possibilities which many 
consider non-existent. Comparatively 
few people, aside from those who ha\c 
business interests in the cuuntrN, \ isir 
interior Alaska. 

Those who have been there as miners 
or prospectors are more or less familiar 
with the products v\hich c:;n be raised 
in that countr\, but aside from these 
the general public have but a vague iilea 
of the character of interior Alaska. 
They carry in their nu'nds the pictures 
in the geograph)- of their school days, 
which would show a cake of ice, with 
a few seals and an f^skimo with a spear 
in pursuit of them ; or a ship in pursuit 



of a whale; or the winter dwellings of 
the Eskimos, consisting of snow and 
ice. These early impressions remain 
and they are hard to eradicate, even in 
the face of facts which prove the condi- 
tions to be far different from the old 
established notions. The writer esti- 
mates that there are ninety thousand 
square miles in interior Alaska which 
can be utilized for agriculture or for 
grazing purposes. This comprises the 
Yukon, the Tanana, the Copper, the 
.Matinuska, the Susitna and the Kus- 
kokwim river valleys. Not all of the 
land in these valleys is susceptible of 
culture, but a very large portion of it 
is and a still larger area on the hill 
sides, and many places where cvdture is 
impracticable are valuable for the graz- 
ing of cattle and sheep. 

Perhaps I cannot do better than to 
tell the story of one of our experiment 
stations, /. c, the one at Rampart, in 
the \ukon V^alley, in latitude 65 "" 30'. 
In the summer a selection of average 
land was made on the north side of 



the N ukon River, to be used as an agri- 
cultural experiment station. It was not 
selected because of special qualities above 
those peculiar to other portions of the 
Vukon V'alley, but chiefly because it 
was close to a settlement, where the 
boats would land, where communication 
with the outside w'as possible and where 
freight could be received and sent with 
the least expense. It was a rolling piece 
of densely wooded forest land, compris- 
ing 320 acres. That sinnmer about half 
an acre was cleared. In the spring of 
I'JOl this half acre was seeded to bar- 
ley and oats and the first crop was har- 
vested in August of that year, for these 
grains grew up and matured in the lat- 
ter half of that month. For want of 
fuiuls no further work was done at this 
station except the seeding and harvest- 
ing of this half acre yearly, until the 
summer of \'H)4. In July of that year, 
-Mr. F. E. Rader took charge of this 
experiment station and the work of 
clearing and building was begun in ear- 
nest. The clearing was gradually e\- 




Greenhouses and Trurk Farm, Fulrbank.s. 
MliihiB :iMcl I'':miiiIiis. nilmine, Tanana. 



Phftn br Hmj 



RlikiTfs Farm. Falrliank.x. 
F.iur A.ivs .if Oals, Falihaiiks 



45 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 





Jame.s Fish's Homestead, t'opper \';(ile>'. 



lialiili.iil I'. S. lOxpil lineiil.il SI. Hi 



tendetl until the past \ear, wlu'ii there 
were lb acres in crop. A neat little 
cottage was built, together with barn, 
implement shed and other necessary 
structures. During all these years there 
has not been a single failure of crops 
at that station. We have grown a 
great many varieties of grains bj- way 
of learning what sorts would do the 
best in that region, and among them 
have been late maturing sorts. These 
have sometimes failed to mature, but 
early and medium maturing grains, such 
as Burt's Extra Karly Oats, North Fin- 
nish Black Oats, Mansury Barle)', Siso- 
lisk Barle\- and many other kinds, ha\e 
invariably matured, and not only have 
spring-seeded grains of this character 
ripened, but also winter r\e and winter 
wheat. We have found that if winter 
grain is sown in August, so as to get 
a fair start before the freeze-up in early 
October, these grains will survive the 
winter, provided always that there is 
a good covering of snow, and they will 
mature the following August. We ha\e 
repeatedly matured small patches of win- 
ter rye and winter wheat treated in 
this manner. Portions of these grains 
have also been winter-killed when it 
happened that the\- were so located that 
the snow would blow off the ground 




Mowing Grain Hay, Copper Valley. 



and thus leave them exposed to the se- 
vere cold. 

That it shiHild be possible to harvest 
grain crops in this far northern latitude 
every \ear for nine consecutive years 
will prove to most fair-minded people 
that the county has agricultural possi- 
bilities of a fairly high order. 

It is almost unnecessary to mention 
the fact that hardy vegetables of all 
kinds are grown to perfection, and have 
been grown ever since the prospector 
came into the country. No better let- 
tuce, radishes or turnips can be found 
in any coimtry than are grown in this 
and other regions of Alaska. Potatoes 
will do particularl) well if due care 
is given to the selection (jf varieties, for 
as ever\body knows all potatO'CS are not 
equallv productive or produce an equal 
quality of tuber in all situations. 

The summer is short; seeding can 
usuall\' not begin until from the 10th 
to 15th of May and sometimes later, 
anil killing frosts occur in the neighbor- 
hood of Rampart aboait the hrst week 
in September. This leaves three and a 
half months in which to plant, grow 
and harvest crops. The winter is, of 
course, correspondingly long, and when 
live stock is kept it is necessary to pro- 
vide an abundance of winter feed. This 
feed the country supplies from two sourc- 
es ; first, hay from the native grasses. 
This hay, if harvested early, before the 
stems become too wood)', is of good qual- 
it\' and sufficienth' nutritious to main- 
tain both cattle and horses in fair con- 
dition all winter. Our wo^rk team at 
Rampart has been sustained largely from 
this source of feed. The second source 
is the grain which the farmer himself 
can grow, and for this purpose we have 
found nothing better than a vigorous 
variety of oats. But frequently we have 

40 



not been able to select varieties for this 
purpose and have been compelled to 
seed common feed oats such as could be 
obtained in the stores, and e\'en these 
have given satisfactory results. 

The past season eight acres of new- 
1\ cleared land produced as fine a crop 
of oats grown for hay as one could wish 
t(j see. There is therefore no ijuestion 
about the prospective farmer's ability to 
maintain his live stock in that coun- 
tr\'. 1 submit herewith a few photo- 
graphs taken at the Copper \'alle\ 
and the Fairbanks Stations, which will 
give the reader an idea of the appe.-uance 
of the crops. 

I am frequently asked, how man\ 
bushels of this or that crop can be raised 
in the interior, and in most c:!ses I am 
compelled to repl\ that I do not know. 
We grow many varieties of grain in 
small plats with a view to test them. 
We grow them for seed with a view 
to select seed grown irovn them and 
for the purpose of improving them. The 
question of yield does not enter into 
these experiments. Moreover the ques- 
tion of \iehl is largely one of fertility 
of the soil. If the so'il is rich and pro- 
duces a rank growth the yield is usu- 
all\' large. If it lacks fertility the farm- 
er can supply this element b\' judicious 
culture, green manure and the use of 
stable manure. He can increase the fer- 
tility of his fields and thus increase the 
\leld. The yield is therefore a question 
of secondar\' importance. The vital 
question is, w'hat varieties of grains can 
he successfull)' grown, and we have 
demonstrated that barley and oats in 
many varieties and also winter rye and 
winter wheat can be grown successful- 
ly. In the summer of 1908 we even 
harvested a plat of winter barley. It 
was seeded in the fall of 1907 as an 




ITHEVALDFZ-FAIRBANK5TRAILI 1p|s% 





/■/J.I* *r /•. II. S-wrll 



A I.Dncl fll' ll:l.v ill llu> 'PaiKinM 



PA«/. *i I,. W. /'/"•» 

'r.-inanri A;-^riciiItur:il lOxhitiil. 



fxpfriiiieiit. A ccnerini; ot :ilii)ut rlirce 
feet of snow protected it iliin'iiir tlie 
winter and in tlie sprin<; it caiiie throuiili 
witl) a tliin stand to be sure, but that 
which survived matured by the begin- 
ning of August. 

I will adil just a wortl about tlie 
Fairbanlcs ICxperinient Station. A tract 
of about 1,400 acres has been selected, 
and we began clearing land in the sum- 
mer of 1907. Ihis was seedeii in the 
spring of 1908 and we harvested a small 
crop of barley and oats that summer. 
The clearing was extended and tlie past 
season ue had thirt\' acres in crops, 
mostly in feed oats with a \iew to win- 
ter the farm teams, but experimental 
plats of many \;irieties n atured before- 
frost, as they did at R.inipart. The 



plan is to extend the clearing as fast 
as funils for this purpose are provided, 
and to eventually farm that station on a 
large scale with special attention to the 
profit and loss account, so as to see 
what it is possible for the ordinary 
farmer to do under similar conditions. 
Labor is costly in that region at the 
present time. At Rampart wages are 
$6.00 a dav without board, anil at 
Fairbanks wages are $7.50 a day with- 
out board. The clearing of land is 
therefore costly and one must use team 
work and machinery as much as possi- 
ble in order to save hand labor. These 
conditions will change, however, with 
the influx of population and the im- 
pnnement of transportation facilities. 
There is at the present time good money 



in tlie gri/wing of ha\ . 1 he price of 
hay varies greati)' in different sections 
of the country, according to the cost 
of freighting it in. Native hay is worth 
about $S0.()0 a ton at Rampart and oat 
JiSiy from $75.00 to $100.00 a ton. 
At Fairbanks hay is worth from five 
cents to se\en cents a pound, accord- 
ing to quality and scarcity of the arti- 
rle. 

In the vicinit\ of Fairbanks there are 
more than 30,000 acres of homesteaded 
latids and there are also a number of well 
kept and productive farms. Wheat, bar- 
ley and oats have been grown to matur- 
ity , but most of the grain that has been 
planted has been cut for hay. 

It is obvious that Alaska can produce 
all the garden and farm truck needed for 
local consumption. 




fh,l, i) h\ U. S>w,ll 



Manlty lliit.l ut Hut HprlnKs. .Muska. 
47 




'j ^tT 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 





Phetos by Cantwrll 



Engraving by Maring S^ Blake 

All of the Territory Adjacent to the Valdez - Fairbanks Trail Is a Great Game country. 



48 




intiEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMII 




FURS, FEATHERS AND FINS 

Pertaining More Particularly to Prince William Sound and Country Adjacent and the Valdez-Fairbanks Trail 

By GEO. C. CANTWELL 




HILK Alaska's min- 
eral resources at pres- 
ent occupy the lime- 
light in the public eye, 
little is heard of the 
fish in its waters, the 
i^ame of the hills or 
the birds of tiie air; 
for aside from its vast 
storehouse of mineral 
Alaska is the h;uint of 
m\ riads of birds and waterfowl ; the 
chosen home of our larj^est game animals 
and the source of great profit from its 
fisheries and fur industrv. 



cies with jet black body and long Hame- 
colored hill, noticed among the rocks at 
the edge of the surf seeking mussels and 
shell fish, which are opened with their 
peculiar shaped bills. Of salt water 
birds two kinds of Loons are common, 
the Reii-throated Diver and the North- 
ern Loon, and half a dozen varieties of 
(Jrebes, often called "Hell-divers," their 
white silky breasts being in demand for 
various trimmings for the fair sex. In 
the vicinitN of the open sea one will find 
isolated islands used as a breeiling 
ground for many of the real sea birds 
living t<fgether as a great happ\ family. 




W.iiting fiir I.unth — Sea Gulls, Vaklez P.:t\ 



The (lulls, of which the Glacous 
winged is our common bird, occupy the 
top of the rocks, arranging a slight nest 
among the dead grass where their three 
brown spotted eggs are laid, the warm 
sun doing the greater part of the hatch- 
ing process. 

While there are no Quail in the coun- 
try, the family is well represented b\ 
the beautiful Ptarmigan ; two varieties 
of which are abundant, the Rock Ptar- 
migan of the mountain tops and the 
Willow Ptarmigan of the lowlands, 
both species turning white in the win- 
ter; the Rock Ptarmigan entirely so, 
while the Willow Ptarmigan sports a 
black tail. The mountain bird is the 
smaller of the two and is erroneously 
called "Mountain (Juail, while thi." 
sourdough name of "Toniicans" is ap- 
plied indiscriminately to both. 

Owls of half a dozen species occur, 
from the Great Cjrey with a four-foot 
spread to the dimnuitive little Pigmy 
Owl, no larger than a sparrow. 

Both Bald Eagles and the (lolden 
Eagle inhabit the country. The latter 
is found in the interior mountain re- 
gions, the former a very common bird 
all along the coast, where their huge 
nests are a conspicuous feature of the 
landscape. The young birds of the Bald 
Eagle first appear in a black plumage 
and do not acquire the white head and 
tail of the adult until three years of age. 
For this reason they are often classed as 
a different bird — ^the so-called Black 
Eagle, in which stage the\' bear some rc- 



To one not fanulir.r with conditions 
it is generally a matter of surprise to 
know that in the case of birds nearly all 
the species that inhabit Puget Sound 
occur here also, together with many that 
are peculiar to this coimtry alone. P'or 
instance, among the game birds we ha\e 
a great variet)' of ducks; Mallards, 
Pintails, Gadwals, Widgeons, Bluebills, 
green and blue winged Teal, Golden- 
ey?, Butterballs, Longtails, Canvass- 
backs. Harlequins, Scotters, Shelldrakes, 
in fact, nearly all varieties except the 
eastern W^ood-duck. Among the larger 
waterfowl are two species of Brant : 
both Canadian and the Blue (lOose, 
Trumpeter Swan and Sandhill Crane. 
Waders are represented by Golden 
Plover, Hudsonian and Esquimaux Cur- 
lews, Red-breasted and the Jack Snipe, 
and over a dozen varieties of Sandpipers, 
Turnstones, Surf birds anti Oyster- 
catchers; the latter an interesting spe- 




llljM^^^^^^^^^ 




Ph^t^ At LutilU'tli 



Moose Mvat In Sight. 



49 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 




^^.'^■ 



\ 



/ 1 



L-/ 



'' '^ ■■'vj^/^^^^^^^^'^r^ 


ttMMl 


^tf^ 


1|KJU|L 


JUJ^ 


■'M^uMmhi 




■X 


7^^[W^ 


\ """' \ 


V 






' 


\-m 


,> 


>\ 


< 


•• 














■v 





I lioto by ("aiitwell. 



A I'-I.Mk of I'hiimigan. 



semblance to the CjciKleii Eajile, but can 
readily be distini^uished by the legs; 
those of the (jolden I'latJile being feath- 
ered to the toes, while the Haiti Eagle's 
are bare from the knee down. 

To the westward of Valdez is the 
ho'me of giant Alaska Moose, the Wood- 
land Caribou and the Kodiak Hear, 
each the largest of its kind. The small- 
er Hlack and Hrown bear are to be 
found in most any likely locality; not a 
few are each year taken near the town 
of Valdez. In the interior lives the rare 
and little known Glacier bear, a small, 
cream-colored fellow, who has a reputa- 
tion of always being on the fight. 

Mountain goats are plentiful in the 
vicinit)' of certain glaciers near the coast, 
while inland are found the White 
Mountain sheep of Alaska, an animal 
totally different from the dark Hig Horn 
of the Rocky Mountains, and only until 
recent years has it been known tO' science. 

Rabbits, or, correctly speaking, the 
Northern Hare, that change to white 
with the first snowfall, are abundant at 
some seasons and almost unknown at 
i/thcrs, dying off at times by the thou- 
sands as though stricken by a plague. 
At such times the\ will be found every- 
where lying dead in the trails or their 
carcasses floating down the streams, re- 
quiring several \ears before they are 
sufficiently numerous again to attract 
attention. 

Among iwx bearing animals thi' 
country is famous for its Marten, 
Heaver, Mink, Land Otter, Lynx, Wol- 
verine, and its nianv Foxes — the Red, 



Cross, Black, Silver Grey, and Hlue 
Fox, the latter a semi-domesticated spe- 
cies that is rasied extensively for its fur 
on several of the islands adjacent to Val- 
dez; to say nothing of its leased fur seal 
privileges and occasional captures of the 
now very rare Sea Otter, bringing the 
aggregate of Alaska furs to a handsome 
figure. 

Probabl\ nowhere are Ermine so 
abundant as in Alaska. One hardly rec- 
ognizes the brown-coated little AVeasel 
in summer as the Royal White luuiine 
of winter, alrhouuh tlu-\ are the same. 



A pale variet\' of the eastern Red 
Scpiirrel is fo^und in the wooded sections, 
(iround Squirrels are everywhere abund- 
ant, ami in the mountains are found the 
Marmot, a first cousin to the Wood- 
chuck of "back east. " And generally 
associated with the M.^rmots or "whis- 
tlers." Among the rock slides are found 
the shy little Conies or Little Chief 
Hare, whose plaintive cry is characteris- 
tic i;f the barren hills. 

Porcupines are met with everywhere 
in the uootls. Lazy, sluggish creatures, 
quite harmless unless the fur is rubbed 
the wrong wa> . They are not bad eat- 
ing when the larder is low — very low. 
Even in this enlightened age there are 
still people who declare these animals 
throw their quills at an enemy. 

Fish, of both salt water varieties and 
the inland waters, are everywhere in 
great profusion. Splendid sea bass fishing 
can be had along the rock\' shores near 
Valdez, and the Prince William Sound 
country is one continuous fishing ground 
where Halibut .and Red Snappers are 
brought up from the dark depths below 
at any season of the year. Cpd, Herring 
and Salmon from Alaska are world- 
famous. Fine strings of Dolly Varden 
'Front can be caught in the lake stream 
near Valdez while the salmon are run- 
ning up its waters to spawn. And in 
the interior in many of the little brooks 
are Mountain 'Frout, red spotted little 
chaps with orange-colored bellies, a de- 
licious addition to the prospector's rath- 
er meagre bill of fare. The Greyling, 
another game little fish, is found in 
many of the streams tributary tO' the 
Copper River; for instance, in Trout 
creek at Tonsina one can catch both 
'Front and Gre\ling from the same pool. 




^^M^'Mrt' '.."jaiir^ ' 



|;L|i'K l;r.ir .^k 



.-s. Hunt. 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 







^ 



THE SALMON TRAIL 




most 



HE Salmon Trail" 
was the name jiivcn 
r o a I 1 navigable 
streams by the old 
Hudson Ray traders. 
It is generally con- 
ceded that some kind 
of a boat can navigate 
any waters where the 
salmon go. Space 
will only permit here 
a \ery general article 
regarding the two 
Alaska Rivers. 

Yukon River. 



important 
77/, 

The Yukon and its larger tributaries 
are the chief means of transportation for 
the vast area of country within its basin. 
From June to October practicall\ all 
supplies consumed by the population of 
the interior of Alaska within the 'I'ukon 
V'alley are taken into that country by 
water transportation over the routes af- 
forded by the navigable streams and dis- 
tributed at points where they may be 
used or obtained for places not located 
directly on these routes. A number of 
large stern-wheel river steamboats, to- 
gether with freight barges, carry the 
freight to points along the main course 
of the \'ukon and up Tanana River to 
Fairbanks. Most of this freight is taken 
up the \'ukon from St. Michael, near 
the river's mouth on liering Sea, after 
it is delivered there by ocean steamships 
from Seattle and San Francisco during 
the summer, as this part of Bering Sea 
is closed by ice from November until 
June. Some supplies, mostly perishable, 
are brought down the "Wikon from the 



The Inland Waterways of Alaska 

head of navigation on that river at White 
Horse, in Canadian territory, where con- 
nection is made with the White i'ass and 
^ ukon Railwa\'. Ihis railway extends 
lor 1 I I miles across the Coast Range 
from White Horse to Skagwa.\', on the 
I'aciHc coast of Alaska, where ocean nav- 
igation is open for the wiiole year to 
Seattle and San Francisco. Freight for 
the Alaska ^ ukon brought in by this 
route is bonded through Crsnaiiian ter- 
ritory and transferred from Canadian to 
American (.arriers at Dawson. Supplies 
shipped in the spring by this route reach 
destinatii;n on the Yukon earlier in the 
sununer than if sent b\ way of St. 
Michael, as the upper ^'ukon is open to 
navig;;tion at an earlier ilate. 

From \arious points on this trunk 
route of transportation through the cen- 
ter of the country smidler steamboats ex- 
tend the distribution of supplies up all 
the import.int tributaries of the Yukon 
for greater or less distances, as occasion 
may warrant, and when these boats reach 
the limits of navigation to which they 
may proceed, the supplies are distributed 
still farther by employing shallow-draft 
scows of 5 to 10 tons capacity, towed 
by horses, or light-draft poiing boats, 
that carry from 1 to 2 tons, pTopelled by 
men. 

kiiskiikiiiiii Ririr. 

The Kuskokw im is the second largest 
stream in Alaska and is perhaps the best 
river for stcamboating in thai country, 
with the po'Ssible exception of the Yukon. 
Steamboats of large size can ascend the 
river about 650 miles to the confluence 
of its two principal headwater branches. 



the East and South forks, and smaller 
steamboats have been up the South Fork 
.about 40 miles above this junction and 
no doubt cijuld also ascend the E;ust Fork 
for some distance. Boats with a draft 
of 2 feet have ascended Takotna River, a 
large tributary of the Kuskokwim that 
heads against the sources of the Innoko, 
for a distance of about bO mil/' to a point 
within 25 miles of ( jaines Creek. 

The Kuskokwim has nr)t been used to 
an)' great extent as a route for the trans- 
portation of supplies, because the coun- 
try within its watershed has not been 
prospected or develciied, as has the ter- 
ritory within the 'i ukon basin. Another 
reason is that Kuskolcwim Bay and the 
estuary or tidal portion of the river's 
mouth has been considered a hazardous 
locality in which to na.vigate ocean ves- 
sels, but this opinion appears to be due 
more to the fact that this part of the 
Alaskan coast is mapped only in rough 
outline, anil is not known in a detailed 
wa)', even !i\' the very few who have some 
personal knowledge of these waters, 
rather than to the presence of any real 
dangers to navigation other than those 
caused b\ lack of acquaintance and prop- 
er charts for guidance. W'hen accurate 
surveys of Kuskokwim Bay and the 
mouth of the river are made and the 
channels that run through its extensive 
shoals are properly marked, ocean ves- 
sels with a draft of 12 feet niay enter 
and ascend it to Bethel with safety and 
dispatch. 

Congress should make an appropria- 
tion for the charting of the waters of the 
Kuskokw im Ba\ and River this summer. 




fe 



rliotn by llilp.v. 



Yukon Sti-amboiit Will H. Isom and Klve Hnrgos. 
61 



■^^^ 



j^flT^ 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 




CHENA HOT SPRINGS TANANA VALLEY 



In the Valley Are Many Thriving Towns 




HKNA is called "the 
head of navigation," 
hecause it is located 
at a point upon the 
lanana River that 
i "~^^, terminates its deep 

9Lg| water channels and 

^^SBP as tar up the 

4llf^^ stream as the large 

Yukon steamers can 
safely come, except 
at \\\ws in the spring of the 
>ear when there is ver\- high 
water. In the summer time it is 
a very busy place, as most of the freight 
for Fairbanks and other towns in that 
sectio'n is reloaded there onto the 
smaller, light-draft vessels for points fur- 
ther up the river. Many of the Fair- 
hanks business houses have warehouses 
there and transfer their freight to the 
larger town, either by boat in the sum- 
mer time or by freight sleds in the win- 
ter time, as they need it. The large 
general merchandise firm of E. W. Grit 
fin &: Co. have their warehouses and 
store in Chena. This is one of tlu- 
largest and most active business institu- 
tions in the Tanana Valley and conducts 
an extensive wholesale trade throughout 
the entire valley. They also have a 
branch in the Iditarod District and last 
season shipped a great many tons of mer- 
cliandise to the new camp. 

Chena lias a number of other mer- 
chandise establishments, a saw mill, elec- 
tric light and power plant, good hotels, 
schools and churches, and b\ reason of 
its location will always be a thrixing 
town. 

Hot Springs is locate<l one hundred 
and fifty miles southwesterly- from Fair- 
banks. It is the center of an active min- 
ing section, which is fast proving itself 
an important factor in the development 
of the Tanana. Because of the hot 
springs, that are active the year around, 
the climate there is a little milder at 
all times than the territory around it. 
At Hot Springs is located the famous 
Manley Hot Springs Hotel, which is 





Wuli-l l''riiht, lMii-h;i, 



.Muska. 



the leading resort in all Alaska. It is 
the largest and best built log structure 
in the territory and contains finely fur- 
nished rooms, a large dancing hall, lobby 
and billiard rooms. Its dining room 
service is imsurpassed. The best of 
foods, including fresh meats, game, fresh 
vegetables, tresh milk and butter is 
served at table during the entire 
year. A farm is run in connection 
with the establishment and its produc- 
ti\eness is one of the wonders of the 
valley. There can also be seen many 
fine horses, Jersey cows, pigs, and chick- 
ens. An added attraction tO' the hotel 
are the three large concrete swimming 
tanks, wliich are always filled with fresh 
hot and cold mineral w ater. This water 
has a medical quality :uiil is the mecca 
for people troubled with rheumatism. 
The hotel is electric lighted and has all 
the e'on\eniences of a modern public 
house in the states. 

The Northern Commercial Compan\' 
has a branch store at Hot Springs, and 
there are also two other substantial mer- 
cantile firms located there. 

Ihe town of Sullivan, forty-seven 
miles from Hot Springs, is a progressive 
little town at Sullivan Creek, the best 
paying placer creek in that section. 

Scattered throughout the Tanana \'al- 
ley are a dozen otlier small business cen- 
ters where are located mercantile houses 
and good hotels. 

Tanana ( P'ort Gibbon) is at. the 
mouth of the Tanana River and gives 
promise of eventually becoming one of 
the foremost towns in Alaska. A U. S. 

52 



militar)- post is adjacent to Tanana and 
there is usuall\ quartered there two com- 
panies of infantry. 

The Tanana \'alle\' as a whole is a 
wonderfully productive country, aside 
from its mineral wealth. The many 
acres of land that are under cultivation 
each summer gives proof that one day 
agriculture will be one of the main in- 
dustries. Famil\- after family that have 
come to the Tanana for a short sojourn 
are so pleased with conditions there that 
the\ are contented to settle down and 
call the territory home. The Tanana 
Valley can furnish homes for four mil- 
lion American citizens. 

A railroad from the seaboard in South- 
eastern Alaska or Southern Alaska direct 
to the Tanana Valley would make avail- 
able resources which are now untouched. 
The natural resources, together with the 
pioneer development work already ac- 
complished by the present inhabitants of 
the \alley, offers sufficient inducement 
for the investment of capital. It would 
cost but little more to buihl such a road 
th;ui to huild .'i suiiil.-ir rcjad in the states. 




Barraclis, \-\,\\ 



mr 



Uf^ff ITHEVALDEZ-FAlRBANKSmiLI 




ALASKA COMMERCE 

The Largest Trade Proportion to Its Population of Any Section of Country in the World 



\m/^m ~V^^ I.ASKA'S plu'imiu- 

[9^^,^ J] ^ ciKil C()iiiiiicii.i:il (Ic- 

\^^gmi Lrnil ^<'l<>P'i"''i^ within tlu- 
Wf^^ff. I \l P<'>^t decade excinpii- 
"I^HF-b 1 tics what can be ac- 

coiiiplislii'il \\ luMi .1 
country licli in r»'- 
sources is opened up 
b\' enei;^etic and im- 
^^^~S-- ajiinative settlers. 

'^^^^^ Alaska since its pur- 

chase by the States 
lias contributed to 
the public wealth proiiucts worth con- 
sidcrablv in excess ot $.^()0,0()0.()()0. 
In proportion to its population, the 
territorv has a commerce more extensive 
than that of any other countr\ in the 
world. It is self-sustaininji in that it 
produces more than it buys. Alaska's 
imports from the United States amount 
to more than twice a>; much as the 
an;ount imported by the Philippines. 

Alaska's total commerce for 1909 a;.',- 
gregated $60,319,786, between $7,000,- 
000 and $8,000,000 in excess of the pre- 
vious \ car's trade. The value of domes- 
tic merchandise shipped out of Alas'un 
to the United States was over $1,000,- 
000 greater than that of 1908. 

.Merchandise from the United States 
imported into Alaska during the past 
year was valued at $18,92.?, 887, an in- 
crease of $.?,000,000 over the impor-.s 
of the previous \ear. Foreign imporls 
of merihandise were valued at $60.?,086. 
Gold and siher imported from foreign 
points amounted to $4,02.3,791, making 
total importations of $23,552,764 com- 
pared with $18,155,393 during 1908 
and $21,624,075 in 1907. 

Alaska's merchandise exports for 
1909, exclusive of gold and silver, reach- 
ed a total of $14,136,223. Of this 
amount the L'nited States received the 
bulk, its proportion being over twenty 
times as much as that sent to foreign 
ports, the former amounting to $13, 
533,137, as against $12,255,137 for 190S 
and $10,770,381 for 1907, while the 
latter only reached $603,086 against 
$857,675 for 1908 and $2,128,157 in 
1907. Domestic gold and silver export- 
ed to the United States totaled $18,044,- 
535 compared with $16,774,127 for 
1908 and $18,471,451 for 1907. For- 
eign gold and silver exported to the 
States aggregated $3,845,705. This 
brings the total exports of Alaska to the 
sum of $36,767,022 compared with 



$34,200,727 for 1908 and $32,234,184 
for 1907. 

In the order of their \;iluc, gold, lish 
and furs were the three largest of the 
principal commodities exported ; gold 
totaling $18,278,962, salmon $10,424,- 
811, and furs reaching $758,160. 

During the past \ear a total of 736 
\essels entered Alaskan ports; of this 
number 418 came from the United 
States and 318 were foreign boats. AVitii- 
in the same period 676 vessels cleared 
from these same ports, the proportion 
being 414 domestic boats and 262 for- 
eign. 1 he gross tonnage of these ships 
amounted to 615,096 tons for those en- 
tering, and 561,369 fur the vessels leav- 
ing port. 

Incrcaseil shipping facilities has been 
largeh responsible for the marvelous 
development of the territory's com- 
merce with the outside world. 
When it is burnc in mind that 
Alaska's white population is only 
^0,000. and that these men in the pro- 
duction of wealth and the establishment 
of industries in the northern domain 
work under decided handicaps and dis- 
couragements, the figures expressing the 
commercial growth of the territory es- 
tablish a rcmarkr.ble record in frontier 
dc\elopment. 

Shipments of merchandise from the 
Unitctl States show an increase in every 
section except Southeastern Alaska as 
compared with those of 1908, the total 
increase amounting to nearly $4,000,000. 
The following table shows the value of 
the merchandise shipped from the Unit- 
etl States to the dififerent divisions dur- 
ing 1909: 

1907. 1»0S. 1909. 

Smithoa.stoi'ii 
.\l.i.sk.i . . .$4,S48.491 % 4.72:',m % 1.719.B6I 

Soiitliorn 

Alaska ... 4."iiii!,920 :!.731.91l 5.554,156 
Itei-inp: soa, 
cti- 4.2!I3,94S 3.317,571 4.010.-,:.-, 

St. .Mlihael 
and Yu- 
kon rivpr 3,5fi4,5Hl 3.294, C89 4,liu;i,ii;i2 



Tolal.s .$17,273,945 J15,0fi6,318 »18,923,887 

.\rerchandise valued at $1,287,170, or 
about one-fourth of the total shipped 
to Southeastern Alaska from the United 
States during the year, went to Tread- 
well. Juneau shipments were second 
in that district, valued at $658,768, and 
Ketchikan third with $429,170. Ship- 
ments to Cordova aggregated $3,066,- 



789, against shipments \alued at $1,- 
305,168 the previous year. Valdez ship- 
ments aggregated $918,372. The Nome 
business led the Hering Sea division, be- 
ing valued at $1,701,623; Bristol Bay 
was second with $1,567,655. Ship- 
ments of merchandise to Fairbanks were 
valued at $2,305,993, and to St. .Mich- 
ael $1,003,346. 

The following table shows the value 
of the don;estic merchandise, gold and 
siUer exported to the United States for 
the last three years: 

i;ki7. i:ios. iuo'j. 

('nppcf 

lire ami 

matle .i TSii.lll $ 502,448 f 20,"., 551 
Ki.vh: 

Kic'sli, 

nthrr 

tliaii 

.salmcin I72.uiil 232.774 242,4';i 

Ciiri'il. 

iitliii- 

than 

salmiiii 2IIX. Ii;i Ii;7,!l32 216,334 

Salmon, 

caiuied 7.721.74'.P ;i,2S2.!C,2 10,424,811 

AM odiei- 

.salmon 3.'.2.'.)57 4;;.'>.3i;7 466,722 

l-'ish Ciian.i 21.i:i5 42,177 51,212 

Ki.sh and 

whale 

oil 45.610 !I2,5X9 141.522 

Kins 501,255 4XS.72S 758.160 

Cvjisnm . 72,965 8 1.025 114,565 

.\Iarlilc .. 28.46 1 50,256 45.982 

Tin oi'p and 

I'onren- 

tralcs . 24.215 7.067 8.200 

Whalplionr 137,939 191,062 140,770 

(itlier mir- 

chandisc 6:i7.li:!2 674,878 590.860 

^-.old and 

silvi-i- . 16.544,127 18,044,533 18,278.962 



Totals $27,544, 5ns $.10,299,738 $31,686,112 

Alaska has become one of the greatest 
gold producing regions in North Amer- 
ica, and its fisheries are among the most 
important in the world. Alaska will 
soon be known as a great copper country 
and also as the region that contains the 
reserve suppl\ of coal for the United 
States. The value of the annual pro- 
ducts of Alaska is now more than $30- 
000,000. The value of the annual gold 
product is $20,000,000, and the astonish- 
ing part of this fact is that the number 
of persons actually engaged in gold min- 
ing is onl\ about 10,000. Wliilc towns 
ha\c sprung up in every part of Alaska 
where gold has been discovered, and 
many of these towns have grown to the 
dignity of incorporated cities, the de- 
velopment of Alaska's resources and the 
individual activity in Alaska are so great 
that they are out of proportion to the in- 
crease in population during the p.ast ten 
\ears. The \alue of the gold mined in 
.Alaska per capita of the men engaged in 
the work is very much greater than in 
any other mining region of the world. 




'Jt^^ft 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 




THE INNOKO AND IDITAROD DISTRICTS 



Two of the Territory's Newest Mining Camps 



\\\\ Iriniiku River is 

Tabdiit ^OU miles long 
anil with its tribu- 
taries drains the 
larger part of an ex- 
tensive area that lies 
between the central 
low er eourses of \ u- 
kon and Kusko'kvvim 
Rivers. Its basin oc- 
~ copies a depression h- 
ing between the Kai\ - 
kidi Mountains on th:- 
northwest and the Kuskokwim Moun- 
tains on the southeast, these ranges sepa- 
rating it from the drainage of ^'ukon and 
Kuskokwim rivers, respectivelv. The 
Innoko is tributar\ to the \ukon from 
the east, joining it about .'iSU miles from 
Bering Sea. 

The Innoko mining camps, O'f which 
Ophir City is the principal settlement, 
are at the head waters of the Innoko 
River, 430 miles by water from Anvik, 
the nearest town upon the Yukon, and 
840 miles from the port of St. Michael, 
at the mouth of the \'ukon River. 

Distances by the winter routes from 
the lower \'ukon to the Innoko are much 
shorter than b\ the summer water 
routes. The wide extent of Hat, swamps- 
country of the lower Innoko Valley is 
then frozen over, so' that more direct 
courses may be followed from one place 
to another. It is about 57 miles from 
Kaltag, a point on the \'ukon above 
Anvik, to Dishkakat, a settlement on the 
Inroko below Ophir, and about 55 mile^ 




The New I(!it;n-n(l Miriiiii; <';inu' 



-1* 'J :/■ 





j.% .»■ ■' ■ ♦ 



0|iliii' I'liy. Iiinokii Disllict. 



Clow I.amliiii;. IditaroO. 



from Dishkakat t(j ( )phir, or 112 miles 
altogether. 

Another winter route to the Innokcj 
leaves "^ ukon Ri\er at a trading station 
called Lewis and strikes almost directl> 
across country, a distance of 100 miles, to 
Ophir Cit}'. This is the shortest route 
from the Tanana District. 

The producing creeks are Gaines, Lit- 
tle, Ophir and Yankee. The camps 
have a papulation of about 500 people 
and last season's gold output amounted 
to about $250,000. The diggings are 
\ery shallow, the depth to bed rock be- 
ing onl\- 14 to 20 feet. If it was not 
for the high cost of transportation of 
freight to the camp, it would be an ideal 
"poor man's digging." Freight rates 
from points on the Innoko River, where 
the steamboats may be able to land it 
at Ophir by means of man-propelled 
boats, varies from 10 to 20 cents a pound, 
according to the distance it must be car- 
ried. At present it costs from $280 to 
$480 a ton for freight charges alone to 
have supplies brought to the Innoko ditr- 
gings from the larger centers of suppl> 
on the Yukon. Most oi the supplie-; 
have heretofore been shipped from Fair- 
banks, but during the coming season it 
is expected that freight will be brought 
in from the states, either by \va\' of St. 
.Michael or the Kuskokwim route, which 
will greatlv lower the prices of supplies. 

Tlic I /lll/iroil. 

The Haiditarod in- Iditarod is a trib- 
ut;:ry of the Innoko, which rises on the 
northwest side of the Kuskokwim Moun- 
tains and flows into the lower Innoko 
abinit 40 niiles above Shageluk Slough. 
Shageluk Slough is a small arm of the 
"^'ukon .-uid is the connecting link be- 
tween the Innoko River and the Yukon. 



The Iditarod is navigable for a con- 
siderable distance by stern-wheel steam- 
boats. 1 he mining camp is about 200 
miles from the mouth of the river. 
There has not .\et been sufficiei-it work 
done on the placer ground in the district 
to justif)' a prediction as to its future. 
Many contradictory reports have been 
made regarding the camp, but the indica- 
tions are that it will rival Ophir. Some 
500 miners wintered there this last w'in- 
ter and many people are contemplating 
going there as soon as navigation is 
open. 

The entire cinintr\ Iving between the 
sea coast, the Yukon and Kuskokwim 
rivers contains a great deal of placer 
ground and it is an excellent field for 
the prospector. 




£^ 



Stoainer Tnii;i Lamling. Itlitarod. 




Stampeders Arriving, Idilarud. 



54 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 




ALASKA'S POSTAL SERVICE 

How the People of Alaska Receive Their Mail 
By John P. Clum, Former Postal Inspector of Alaska 



PtH 




HE fad that suilabl"' 
mail lai'ilitios aro es- 
sentia! to I lie proper 
(levelopiiieiit of a new 
coinilry is a foregone 
eonclusion. T h e s e 
facilities should follow 
close upon the heels of 
the pioneer and the 
prospector. 

In any discussion of 

-,-., the mail facilities in 

Alaska it is important 

that we should not 

lose sight of the fact that this service 

is now only eleven years old. At the time 

of my first trip down the Yukon, in 1S98. 

only two postoffices had been establisheii 

between Dawson and the Bering Straits. 

These were Circle and St. Michael, and. 

in fact, only one of these was in full 

operation. Venerable Jack McQuesten, 

the "Father of the Yukon." was the only 

real live postmaster within the vast area 

north of the Pacific coast line. 

Up to that time there had lieen no reg- 
ular mail service on the Yukon. 

About the middle of August the same 
year the little steamed Dora sailed into 
the harbor of Valdez and I proceeded at 
once to establish a postoffice at that point. 
At that time it was not even imagined 
that within a decade Valdez would be 
the great port of entry for all winter 
mails, as well as for travelers and 
freight for interior points. 

An action of the greatest importamc 
to the residents of Alaska was the ado|)- 
tion by the postoffice department in 19IIS 
of the trail from Valdez to Nome as the 
trunk line for the transportation and 
distribution of winter mails. A most 
excellent service is now operated three 
times a week between Valdez and Fair- 
banks, and a weekly service between the 
latter office and Nome. The quantity of 
mail transported over this route in laoS 
was more than double the quantity car- 
ried in 1907. and there is every reason 
for believing that this quantity will be 
increased as the trail is improved and the 
country developed. 

Horses are utilized all the way from 



\'al<lez to Tanana on the Yukon— a dis- 
tance of 5011 miles. At Tanana the faith- 
ful dogs take up the burden and convey 
the precious letters to those located in 
the remote caiups to the north and west. 

There are seven postoffices in Alaska 
located north of the Arctic Circle. Thpse 
are Caro, Coldfoot, Nolan, Bettles, Kotze- 
bue, Shungnak and Barrow. All of these 
offices receive a monthly mail during the 
winter, with the exception of Barrow. 

The postoffice at Wales occupies the 
westernmost limit of the American main- 
land, while Barrow, at Point Barrow, is 
the farthest north postoffice in the 
world. Here is an Alaskan postoffice 
holding a world's record. Formerly th'> 
residents of Point Barrow had the habit 
of receivin,g but one mail a year, which 
arrived with the annual cruise of the 
revenue cutter. Four years ago a winter 
service was established with two round 
trips from Kotzebue, so that now the Bar- 
row office receives three mails a year, 
and the patrons are much pleased over 
their consequent close touch with so- 
called civilization. 

In the spring of 1S99 a friend in Se- 
attle telegraphed me at Washington that 
he was going to the new caiu|) on the 
north coast of the Bering sea. and thought 
they should have a postoffice. 1 imm.'diale- 
ly sent him a bond, and as soon as this 
had been executed the postmaster at Se- 
attle was instructed by wire to supply 
the new postmaster with $500 worth of 
i-'1amps. Thus was the postoffice at Nom- 
lilaced in operation upon the arrival of 
the first steamer at that port in the spring 
of 1899. The following summer this office 
served a population of from 25.000 to 
:?0,ooo argonauts. 

Nome holds three special records in the 
United States service. On July 2:i, 1900, 
the money orders sold aggregated $9,300, 
and the amount of orders paid was $4,- 
(i02, making a grand total of $1,1,902 for 
the day's business. This is the largest 
money order b\isiness ever transacted by 
a fourth-class office in a single day. 

1 was in charge of the service there 
that summer as an inspector, and for 
about two months operated a city free 



delivery with two regular carriers in uni- 
form. That established a second rec- 
ord for the Nome office. In the summer 
of 1902 I installed a most popular rural 
free delivery service to the creeks adja- 
cent to Nome — thus creating another 
unique feature in Alaskan postal affairs. 

Alaskan service involves a maximum 
of expense and a minimum of revenue to 
the deiiartnuMit. The transportation of 
the Alaskan mails is now costing the gov- 
ernment between $(iO0,0O0 and $700,000 
annually. That is a tidy sum. The reve- 
nues from the sale of stamps and box 
rents in Alaska aggregate a considerable 
amount, but the greater portion of these 
revenues are disbursed for clerk hire, 
office rent and salaries of postmasters, 
Valdez, Juneau. Skagway, Fairbanks and 
Nome are about the only offices return- 
ing considerable surplus revenue to the 
department, and this surplus revenue 
probably is not over $20,000 annually. 
Therefore, the postoffice department has 
been exceedingly generous with Alaska 
when considered on a basis of receipts 
and expenditures. 

The future of Alaska's postal service 
is an important matter. No one denies 
the fact. What Alaska needs — and 
shovild strive for — in connection with her 
postal service is the granting of unusual 
methods to meet the emergencies of her 
unusual conditions. 

The postmasters of Montana recently 
held a convention at Butte which was 
attended by the Postmaster General. At 
this convention a United States senator 
stated that in view of the enormous pro- 
l)ortions attained by our national postal 
service it would doubtless soon be neces- 
sary to establish postal divisions through- 
out the country, with an assistant or 
deputy postmaster general in charge of 
each such division. There is urgent need 
for the immediate application of this plan 
to the Alaskan postal service, and I have 
reason to believe that the present admin- 
istration would favor it. The remote- 
ness of Alaska, the nniisiial conditions 
and her imi)ortant development demand 
it. and the increa.finij values of her an- 
nual productions iustifi/ it. 







^^?t« 



^'*\l l^ 




^-•^..4- V 



Yukon River Mall Team. 
55 




ITHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 




TANANA PLACER MINING 

(CoiUiiuu-il tiiiin I'a.uc 41) 

recent discovcn. The pa\ lu'ie Is ap- 
parently of much jjiratcr vahie tlian in 
tlic other creeks of this district, and great 
interest by tlie miners of the Tanana 
\'alle\' was taken in this creek during last 
season. Claims and interest in claims on 
this creek were sold ..t good prices. As 
a residt of this discovery Hot Sprin;:s 
has become a town of several huntlred 
people. The indications are that the Hot 
Springs District will be second in im- 
portance only to Fairbanks. The pay 
streak in Sullivan Creek is not so deep 
as most of the pa\ streaks in the Fair- 
banks District. The pay in (jlen and 
Kureka Creeks will be extracted by 
hydraulic methods. Uetween the mining 
centers of Fairbanks ami the Hot Springs 
there is 100 miles of comparati\el\ un- 
prospected ground. 

In the Kantishna Mining District at 
the base of Mt. McKinley, some rich 
shallow placers were found two years 
ago. They were quickly exhausted and 
no efifort has since been made to find pay 
at greater depth. 

The Honnilield and Tatalinka Dis- 
tricts, about fifty miles southeast of Fair- 
banks, comprise a vast area of phicer 
ground about which comparatively little 
is know II. Some prospecting and mining 
have been ilone here, enough to ascer- 
tain the existence of large deposits of 
low-grade gravel. 

In the Tenderfoot District, about sev- 
enty-five miles southeast of Fairbanks, 
there are several producing creeks. T hi^ 
district has alreadv \ielded more than 
$1,000,000, possibly $2,000,000, of gold. 
These are the different regions of the 
Tanana Valley from which gold has been 
taken, but these regions of the valle\ do 
nol comprise by any means all the aurif- 
erous ground. In the southwestern part 
of the Tanana Vallex', in the foothills of 
the Alaska Range, there are some of the 
most extensive gravel terraces in Alaska. 
But very little js known abo\it this 
region. 

There is a great deal of gmuuil in llii^ 
part of Alask;! that can be mined b\ 
h\(lraulicking. 'Fhere is a great field 
here for dredges. Almost everywhere 
bedrock conditions are favorable for this 
kind of mining. The only obstacle to 
this method is the frozen ground, but the 
great value of most of the gravel deposits 
in fro/.en ground will warrant the ex- 
pense of thawing the ground ;diead of the 
dredge. There are streams in the Tan- 
ana Vallev which are known to contain 
gold, but which cannot be mined by jires- 
ent methods because the ground is thaw- 
ed and water prevents operations. This 
kind of ground presents the most favor- 
able conditions for dredge mining. 



There aie too man\' g<K)d opportunities 
in this region inr profitable dredge min- 
ing to pass unnoticed, and within a few- 
years, without doubt, a number of 
dredges will help to swell the increasing 
gold pr(](luct of the Tanana X'alley. 



ASSAYER'S STANDPOINT 

(Continued from Page 4.^) 

derful showing for surface rock. About 
six feet of the 30 is a much richer ore 
and pieces after roasting show almost 
solid copper. It is claimed by Mr. A. 
H. Cook, who bidught back samples, 
that the ledge can be traced for a long 
distance. This iMi't the only occurrence 
of copper in the district as assays on 
croppings elsewhere have yielded from 
S-10 per cent, to .^.5 per cent, copper. 
In this ore there is considerable sd\er 
but usually onl\ a trace of gold. 

Of the rarer minerals tin and tung- 
sten are by far the most important. 
Placer tin has been foiuid in commer- 
cial quantities that shows as high as 60 
per cent. tin. while it is claimeil that 
the formation supplying these placers 
has been located. The ore is Cassite- 
rite of varying piu'ity. 

The predominant tungsten nuneral 
in this district seems to be Scheelite. Al- 
tho'Ugh Tungsten is used to a consiilera- 
ble extent in incandescent lamps, by fai' 
the greater amount is used in m.aking a 
high-grade steel. Tungsten steel ranks 
above all others, but \'anadium, and is 
valuable in proportion. 'That the min- 
eral Scheelite occurs ver\ generally in 
the district is shown by its occurrence 
in placer sands and although the loca- 
tion is not to be made public for the 
present, at least one ledge carrying 
Scheelite has been discovered and sam- 
ples will be shipped to the outside. Two 
creeks in the district carry such a large 
percentage of Scheelite in the placer 
sands that it is more than likel\ the 
sources of the supph will make a com- 
mercial ore body. 

Considering brieH\- the difticulty of 
prospecting and the ilessultory attempts 
so far indulged in to develop properties, 
this district has made a wonderful show- 
ing. Lack of development was no't due 
to underestimation of properties, but 
rather from lack of funds. The ever- 
present high price of powder works a 
hardship on the prospector and many 
good prospects are now lying idle for 
this reason. It will not be a matter of 
main >ears, however, before the Fair- 
banks district will be ranked among the 
top-notchers. 

56 



MINOOK CREEK 

A New Dredging Company to Operate in 
Rampart District 

MINOOK CREEK, iu the Rampart dis- 
trict. Is to be made to yield up 
its untold wealtli to the commerce 
of tlio world. Tlio Rampart district is one 
of the oldest in Alaska in point of gold 
Ijroduetion. and Minook Creek and its 
Iributaries have already contributed sev- 
eral millions to Alaska's gold output. But 
the primitive and expensive mode of min- 
ing with pick and shovel is to give wa.v 
to modern methods, and gold dredging 
niafhinery of the lates) lyiie is to be 
used to extract the hidden wealth of 
Minook Creek. 

The i)roperty to be oi)ened up extends 
for a distance of six miles up Minook 
Creek from the mouth, and embraces 
more than 1.500 acres. This area con- 
lains millions and millions of cubic yards 
of gravel which has long been known 
to be rich in placer gold, but which, owing 
lo (he low, flat bedrock, can be success- 
fully worked only with dredging ma- 
chinery. The depth to bedrock on the 
|iroi)erty runs from 10 to 25 feet, but the 
richest values are to be found in the 
first five feet above bedrock. 

Minook Creek empties into the mighty 
Yukon, and machinery can be unloaded 
from the river boats directly on the 
ground, thus prohibitive freight rates for 
overland hauls are avoided. An abund- 
ance of wood furnishes a cheap fuel sup- 
ply, and in fact all conditions seem to be 
ideal for gold dredging. The ground is 
within one mile of the town of Rampart, 
where is located a government telegraph 
station affording direct communication to 
the states, as well as a postoffice, re- 
cording office, hotels, stores, etc. 

When making mining investments suc- 
cessful people entertain only bona fide 
propositions in which they can be con- 
vinced there is a minimum of risk and 
speculation and a maximum assurance 
of big and regular profits. The oppor- 
tunity for such an investment is rarely 
offered, even during this development 
period of the wonderful mineral resources 
of Alaska. There are chances every day 
to put money into the development of 
prospects and unknown ground, but for- 
tunate indeed is the investor who has 
an opportunity to get in on the ground 
floor in a proposition which is absolutely 
known and proven, such as Minook Creek, 

A company known as the Minook Gold 
Dredging Company has recently been 
formed for the purpose of developing th.s 
Minook Creek property. The claims are 
not, as is too often the case, held on 
leases or options, but the property is all 
owned by the company, having been ac- 
quired by original location and pur- 
chase. To complete the capital neces- 
sary for installing dredging machinery on 
its ground with the oiiening of navigation 
in the spring, the company is offering a 
limited amount of its stock to investors 
who wish to get large returns for their 
money and yet who do not wish to enter 
the field of wild speculation. The com- 
pany has temporary offices at 611 Marion 
Bldg.. Seattle, where full information and 
all details may be obtained. 



Ul^ 



>^^ 



t^ff 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 



"Tfl-^^- 




THIS IS THE SIGN 
THAT REACHES 




BTraMSHIP 




^ 



OF THE BIG LINE 
ALL PARTS OF 



ALASKA 



If you have occasion to travel to or froia Alaska, citliei- on business or pleasure, re- 
iiieinbei- that the ALASKA STEAMSHIP COMPANY is the BIG Alaska Line, operat- 
ing a large fleet of first-class vessels, Summer and Winter, on all routes to Alaska. The 
whole ^Alaskan Coast, from 4!) deg. 40 min. to the Arctic Circle, is serv^ed by the ALASKA 
STEAMSHIP CO.. and by means of close traffic arrangements with Kail. Stage and River 
Steamer IJnes, the great interior of Alaska and Yukon Territory is ser^ ed Summer and \Vin- 
tcr. The ojjerations of this great company extend over the following Alaska Routes: 

SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA ROUTE 

Seattle to Ketchikan. Metlakahtla, Wrangel, Douglas, Treadwell, Juneau, Haines, Skagway, Sitka and all South- 
eastern Alaska points. This route is open to navigation during the entire year. Steamers sail from Seattle during the 
Winter months about every 1 2 days, and during Spring, Summer and Fall, about every 5 or 6 days. Connections at 
Skagway vs'ith the White Pass and Yukon Route for Davs'son — during the Summer by rail and river steamers, and during 
the Winter by rail and stage. This is the greatest Summer Excursion route in the world. See below. 

SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA ROUTE 

Seattle to Cordova, Valdez, Ellamar, Latouche and Seward. This route is also open during the entire year. Large, 
hrst-class ocean steamers, such as the "Yucatan," "Northwestern" and "Victoria," sail from Seattle regularly at 10 a. m. 
on the 1st, 8th, 16th and 24th of each month, traveling by the "inside" route. Connections at Cordova with Copper 
River & Northwestern Ry. ; at Valdez with Orr Stage Line; at Valdez with Steamer "Dora" for Unalaska and way ports; 
at .Seward with Alaska Central Ry. 

WINTER ROUTE TO FAIRBANKS 

This is the only Winter route to Fairbanks and other interior points in Alaska. During the Winter months the Ed. 
S. Orr Stage Co. operate mail and passenger stages, leaving Valdez and Fairbanks three times a week, and making the trip 
in about 8 days. From Fairbanks the entire Tanana gold.ield is accessible, as well as the newly-discovered Iditarod camp. 
The Winter mails for the interior and Seward Peninsula are carried by this route. 

NOME ROUTE 

On this route navigation opens about June 1st, and during the season of navigation, closing about October 1 0th, 
steamers sail regularly and frequently for Nome and St. Michael, connecting at Nome with local steamers for all Alaska 
Peninsula points and at St. Michael (until the sailing from Seattle of about Aug. 23th) with Northern Navi<jation Co. 
river line of steamers for all Yukon, Koyukuk, Fanana and Innoko river points, including the Iditarod. This is the Summer 
route to the Iditarod. 

EXCURSION ROUTES 

During the Summer season the ALASKA STEAM SHIP CO. operates excursion steamers on special excursion 
schedules, making tours of Southeastern and Southwestern Alaska, and in connection with the W. P. & Y. Rte. and 
Yukon River lines, offers excursions to Atlin and Dawson and down the Yukon river to St. Michael and Nome, returning 
to Seattle by ocean. A trip to wonderful Alaska is the most attractive and pleasing vacation excursion trip that can be 
planned. Ask us 

For maps and full information address 
DFPT. A- 1 

ALASKA STEAMSHIP COMPANY 

PIER 2, SEATTLE, WASH. 
JOHN H. BUNCH, F. & P. A. 



67 






THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 







m 



ED. S. ORR STAGE GO 

SERVICE BETWEEN 

Valdez and Fairbanks 



8 


WM 




d 


8 


DAY 


i^B 


^^H^^U. . ^ Tr^ %.i 


^^t * 


DAY 


SCHEDULE 


^^P 


^9H^E3BbV^ "" '^ 


li 


SCHEDULE 


:)(i4 MILES 


-^*^ 


^fZdS^-^ 




;i(i4 .MILES 



STAGE IN KEYSTONE CANYON 



LEAVE VALDEZ 

Tuesday, TKursday and Saturday 

LEAVE FAIRBANKS SAME DAYS 



ALL STAGES EQI^n^PED WITH ABUNDANCE OF 

FUR ROBES AND CARBON-HEATED FOOT W ARxMERS 

STOCK CHANGED EVERY TWENTY ^HLES 

FREQUENT STOPS AT COMFORTABLE ROADHOUSES 

TELEGRAPH STATIONS EVERY FORTY JNULES. 

TIHIOUGH TICKETS CAN BE PITRCHASED FROINI 

stea:msiiip co^nipanies in Seattle 



ED. S. ORR STAGE COMPANY, Inc. 

VALDEZ AND FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 




^r#Pf I IHb VALDEZ-FAIRBANK5 TRAIL I f^^. 




El HOPEAN PLAN. 



PIIOXE ic, 



PIONEER HOTEL 



242 First Avenue 



DA\E PETP.EE. Piop. 



Fairbanks, Alaska 




100 ROOMS 



FIRST CLASS. MODKIJN. \VELL-FT'1{MSIIED, STEAM 

HEAT. ELKCTKR FJCillT. HATIIS. FLUSH 

TOILETS. LOBI?V. HAli. CAFE. 

STABLES AND DOG-HOUSES FREE TO PATRONS 



i3 



•>^^ 



ff 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKSmiL 




A Trail Luxury 



CLEAN, WARM BEDS 
IN 
PRIVATE ROOMS 




YOU'RE SORRY TO LEAVE 

AFTER 

AN OVERNIGHT STOP 



W. F. MUNSON 



Tilt' iiR'als ;iif tlir licst i-fsults a ^ixxl n))k can get IVoiii a ctiiiiilctf sii])|)ly of all the hest 
lliiiiys froiii l'"airl)aiiks, and tlie pick of tlit- best game and wild fowl of the Taiiana Valley. 

Salchaket Post 




MUNSON'S ROADHOUSE 

rilK GKKATKST ROADHOUSE IX ALASKA 

(;OOD BAR TX COXNECTIOX KEKCTRIC^ LIGHTED 

HEATED BARXS AXD DOG KEXXELS 

SECURE CORRALS PROTEC T VOITR LOADS 

IS I'OST Xo. 2 OX THE ORR STAGE SERN'K L 
GEXERAL STORE AXD TRADIXG I'OST 

W. F. MUNSON, Proprietor 



60 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANK5 TRAIL 



1f1^^-: 







North American Transportation and 

Trading Go. 

THE I'lONKKli MERCHANTS AND CAKRIEKS OF AEASKA 

North American Transportation and Trading Go's Yuton River Steamers 

and Barges : 

STEAMERS BARGES 



WILL H. ISOM j. P. LIGHT EVELYN 

JOHN CUDAH^' PORTUS B. WEARE 

T. C. POWER J. J. HEAL\' KLONDIKE 

CHAS. H. HAMILTON JOHN C. BARR 



MONTANA ONTARIO HUTCHISON 

IDAHO MICHIGAN DWIGHT 

HURON ERIE ARIZONA SUPERIOR 

OMAHA NEW YORK 




( 



^4**il 

■H« r, rirTTTTia^^ 

^'"HJieii"; 



^yU 



I 





I 



J 



Tlif al)()ve steamers are modern in every respect. Electric liiylit. steam lieat. hot and 
cold water in staterooms. These steamers are officered hy men of loiiy- exi)eriiiicc. and every 
attention is <r'\\vu \'.i the camfort and safety of jjassenofeiN. 

Shi]) \in\v rreii>iit \ia this line. It will receive careful handlinu' and (|Mick (les|)ati'h. 

Reyiilar sailings from .St. .M it-hael weeklv during' the season for all ^'nkon and 'I'aiiana 
l{i\er Points. 



Nortfi American Transportation and Trading Company 



SE.VTTLK OKKICK, COLLINS Bl II.DLXG 



61 



v^^ 






THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSmiL 





When in Coppei- Center, 

Alaska, Get tlie ITa])it 

of Stopping at 

HOTEL HOLMAN 



IIraili|uin'trrs lor ( '(iiuiiicfciiil 
Traveli'i-s 

Shihics (iild !)<>(/ Houses -iCil}/ 
Wdicr (tiid Corral (lUdchcil. 
free of cliarr/e io ihe (jiiesls. 

Store ix Connection 

Furs Bouglit and Soli I 



RINGWALD BLIX, Prop, of 



HOTEL HOLMAN 

COPPEI^ CENTEI^, ALASKA 

The Traveler's resting place of the Copper River Valley. Guides furnislied and 
s])ecial rates given to Tourist and Exploration Parties. Best of Accommodations. l^'irst 
estalilislied in business 1898 ])y Ringwald lilix. 



liil Li' .liJ 1. 



<, itoUi 14 I \l. : .-.t 1 1^*1- u^,i. 



V."f*f' '■ '!*•■■ ^'it 



Headquarters for Orr's Stage Co. 
Second Night's Stop from Valdez, 
1 02 miles. Also stopping place for 
Kennedy's Stage Co. Close to the 
junction where the Cordova road 
joins the Fairbanks-Valdez Wagon 
Road. 



FifU- Mil.'^ t.i Mount \\-r;nmf11, flnni r,,],,,. r r. ntor 



C2 




rf'flT 



THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 



^'4^ 




m 



Go 


pper 


Center 


Clu 


b 




COlTKli ( I'.NTK.Ii. ALASKA 








Fine 


Wines, Liquors 
and 
Cigars 








CHARLES COWELL, Proprietor 







Overland Roadhouse 



54 IMilcs from Fairbanks 
11 Miles III nil Mimson s. 



\Vc can Accommodate M) r(()])Ic 
Comfortaljlv 



Good Sldhlcs and Dor/ Houses 

Vincent S Matthews 

PROPRIETORS 



MILLER'S ROADHOUSE 

144 INIiles from Fairbanks 
220 Miles from Valdez. 

Can Care for (J.) I\'o|)k' 
Sin<>le lioonis for l(i 

EarcUcnl Wdlcr Well Inside House 

Heated Stable 

.Minis at Ai.i, Ilorifs 



Wilson Miller and Wife 

Proprietors 




ITHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSmiL 




Tne Leading Prescription Pharmacy 




CHECHACOS AND STRANGERS: We want your jtatrouage. Our stock is complete in all its details and you will 
find that we carry all the drug store wants you have been accustomed to purchasing in the States, at a very little 
cost above what you have been paying. We don't charge you a GRUB STAKK every time you come into our store. 
Our modest prices pay us well, because all our customers come again. 

MAIL CKEKK .VND B0.4I>H0U.SE ORDERS .ATTENDED TO I'KO.MPTI.Y 
LARIiE.ST «irOI,KS.\I,E .\>I> UET.AII. DRrCi HOU.SE IN Til K TERRITORY 



Fairbanks Building 



ANDERSON'S DRUG STORE 



Fairbanks, Alaska 



ALASKA DRUG COMPANY 




DRUGGISTS AND STATIONERS 



:AGENTS FOR: 



Victor Talking Machines, Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pens, Hudnut's and Palmer's Fine Perfumes 

VALDEZ, ALASKA 



64 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANK5MIL 




<v' 



Do You Want to Keep in Touch with Alaska Affairs? 

c:bc Elasha Sullctin 

IS AN INDEPENDENT MONTHLY JOURNAL PERTAINING TO ALASKA AND ITS PEOPLE 

Mining Industrial Agricultural Non=Political 

\() Kictit)ii Stories or Loiigtliy Descriptive Articles, 
But FACTS. CONDENSED, ACCURATE. TIMELY. TRUTHFUL 

A Month i.v Hkvikw oi- tuk Progrkss of tiik Uxitki) Siaiks (iRKATKST Tr.HHiroin 
And a INfoxTiii.v Dujf.st of \\'jiat Pkopi.k Know and Sav Auoit Alaska. 

WILL CARRY THE FOLLOWING REGULAR DEPARTMENTS: 



Mining News 
Shipping News 
Jobbing News 

As The Outside Sees Alaska 
Alaska at Washington 
Road Commission and 
Geological Sur\ey Record 
Railroad Building 
Steamship Sailing Dates 
Sourdough Gossip 



Correspondents in all of the principal Al- 
aska towns. Washington, D. C. New ^'ork. 
Chicago. Denver, San Francisco and Port- 
land. 

Articles from time to time by prominent 
men identified with Alaska. 

No expense will be spared to make the 
contents of this journal correct as to facts. 



Yearly Subscription M.50 the Year 

Incliiiiinn ilic Aniuinl Miiska Iteview for next year. Tliis l)ook is tlip fir.sl annual. Tlio> noxi annual will ln' an 
All-AlasUa Pictorial Review and will be issued early in l!Ml 

Every A.laskan can help advertise Alaska by subscribing for a copy of this 
journal. Send subscriptions to your friends upon the outside. 




Tllis is a iiholiiKrapli of tlic Molur lioal wh havf jii.sl iiun Im.,. d lo 
be used iipcK the inland walPr of Ala.ska during the coming summer by 
3ur Special PlioloKraplicr for llie purpose of gathering photographs for 
The Alaslta Bulletin and the Annual All-Alaska Pictorial Review. 



-Mail this C'oniion with $1..')0 P. O. or l-;x 
press Money Order, Check or Stamps lo 



THE ALASKA PlBLiSHING CO 



Section F. Central BIdg.. Seattle yy s- if- 




65 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 



-TBTWr 




K- 



/<•-?- 




The Ed. S. Orr Co. Stage in Koystone Oaiiy.>ii. 



ALL ABOARD FOR THE TANANA 



Shortest Route to the Interior 



Alaska is not, as many people may snppose, accessible 
only during the summer season, and entirely inaccessible 
dui-ing the winter. True, some parts of Alaska, owing to 
I he immense extent ot the territory and the great difference 
in climatic conditions, cannot be reached, or at leasl are 
not reached, during the winter season by the oi'dinary 
means of transportation, but 

From Valdez the Government has constructed and nuiin- 
lains a road across the coast range of mountains into tlie 
interior of Alaska, — the valley of the great Yukon and ils 
tributaries — over which stages carrying U. S. mail and 
passengers, operate during the winter season on regular 
schedules between Valdez and Fairbanks. These stages 
are operated by Ed, S. Orr & Co., in close connection 
with steamers sailing from Seatlle for Valdez. Slages are 
also oiierated between Fairbanks and Fort Gibbon (also 
named Tanana) at the confluence of the Tauaua and Yukon 
Rivers. 



During the past several years hundreds of i)eoiiIt' have 
traveled from Seattle to Fairbanks by steamers to Valdez, 
and thence by stage line. During the past two years the 
Alaska Road Commission has expended near the sum of 
.?1 00,000.00 in improving the conditions of the Valdez- 
Fairlianks trail, which, together with the much improved 
roadhouao service from year to year, renders the trip over- 
land one of pleasure rather than hardship. The U. S. 
Mails for Fairbanks and Nome and, in fact, the whole of 
I ho interior of Alaska are now sent over the Valdez 
Route during the winter season. Until last winter there 
had been a twice-a-week mail service between Valdez and 
Fairbanks, under contract with the Northern Commercial 
Co., which contract has recently been increased by an 
additional amount of 48,000 pounds of mail matter, which 
necessitates a tri-weekly service during the present winter, 
beginning aboul the 24th of November, 




THEmPEZ- FAIRBANKS MIL 





STAGP: of the ED. S. ORR stage to. IX front of their office IX 
VALDEZ. READY TO START FOR FAIRRAXKS. A DISTAXCE OF :HH 
MILES. WHICH IS USUALLY MABK IX EIGHT DAYS. 



In connection wilh this mail service, Ed. S. Oir & Co. 
maintain a fully eciuipped stage line for the accommo- 
dation of express and passengers. This is the fourth 
season of the Orr Stage Service, and those who traveled 
over the trail between Valdez and Fairbanks during the 
lasl three seasons can testify as to the excellence of that 
service. The stages will connect with steamers at Val- 
dez, making the tri]) from Valdez to Fairbanks in about 
eight days. Comlorlalile roadhouses are located about 
every twenty miles along the route, where horses are re- 
layed, and meals and sleeping accomniodalions may be 
secured by travelers. There are a number of U. S. tele- 
graph stations located along the trail, thus making it 
possible for patrons of the line to keep fully informed 
ill repaid to rurrent event.^, either in Alaska or the outside 



world. The stages operated on this route have accommo 
dations for nine passengers and the driver, and are the 
regular wide-bed, upholstered bobsled, well-known to the 
uiiper Yukon travelers. The trail is in the best condition 
for traveling during the months of January. February and 
.March. Beginning about November 24th stages will leave 
Valdez on Monday, Thursday and Saturday of each week, 
and oftener when occasion demands. Passengers bookini; 
llirou.eh to Fairbanks in Seattle will have their accommo 
dations reserved on the stage line in advance, which will 
often save delay at the point of transfer. The passenger 
rate by stage from Valdez to Fairbanks will be $150.00, 
which will include the free carriage of 25 lbs. ot hand 
baggage; the roadhouses' expenses, hmvever, nuist be 
borne by the pa.ssenger. 



For rurtlur Inroi-ni.'itlnii addi-t'ss tlio 



ED. S. ORR STAGE CO., Inc. 



YALDEZ. .\LASKA 




' J^^ 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANK5 TRAIL 



>l 




"^i^jm 



B. B. O. BEl'f^I^ 



Northern 
Light 
Lager 
Beer 



The 

Milwaukee 
of the 
West 




lR Beer 

°*RTMEL BRtVv'lNOC 





BARTHEL HREWERV, FAIRBANKS, ALASKA. 

Barthel Brewing 
Company 

II. liARTHEL, Prcs. 

D. H. CASCADOX. Vhr-Pirs. 

DAVE PETREE, Sec. and Trcas. 



OS 




r#fr 



THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 





WIIKN IX 1 AlKliANKS 
EAT AT THE 



Model Cafe 



Alex. M. Capeavki.i,, 

7 I AROIJ) LiNDSTROM, 

Proprhiors. 



p. 




Hotlel aiffH" 



Si IT 



OIT. r. • . I! H. IIKfOT 




FINE WIXKS. 
I.IQI'OKS (uul 
( KiAKS 

Sppciiilty 

.\li'\ illir Pictlll'C.- 

Evcry Kvciiiiii:- 
Miller (SLSusang 

l'ln|,l-s. 




^^ff 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 




Valdez Dock Go. 



DEALERS 

Coal 
Hay and 
Grain 



A. E. GRIGSBY, Sec-Manager 



Alaska 
Territorial Club 



I,. D, FI.YXX, President 
E. E, r.lTCHIE. V-Pres. 
CIIAS, O. GANTY. &'ec'y 

VALDEZ, ALASKA 



THE ALASKA TERRITORTAT. CLUB was organizod at Valdez 
in. Novombei-, 1909, with a present niombprship o^ nearly 
eoO in Valdez alone, and Kimilar clubs with the same name 
and for the same purpose aro being organized in othoi- towns 
tliioughout the Territory. 

The object of the Club is to ci-ystallize the almost vinanimous 
sentiment of bona- fide residents of Alaska in fa\or of a terri- 
torial fortti of government .and organize it into an aei\v working 
force to promote the object its name indicates. 

The vMaska 'I'erritorial Clul' <>rui>osHS. thi'oiigh its urguniza- 
tion and membership, to undertake to induce members of Con- 
gress from all the states to vote for the creation of a territorial 
forni of government for Alaska. This will be done by direct 
correspondence with Senators and Representatives and by secur- 
ing the publication in newspapers of the states of articles in 
support of that object. The Club is organized to obtain con- 
certed and united action through the same channels and by 
identical methods. 



Th e Sec ro t ary will gladl y an s w er 
jiarties interested in the subject. 



all c M'respondence with 



References: Any Bank or Business House in Valdez 


Phone 31 


VALDEZ 


Real Estate Agency 


INCORPORATED 


GENERAL AGENTS for 


N O N - K E S I D E N T S 


ABSTRACTS, COLLECTIONS 


REAL ESTATE AND MINING PROPERTY 



GEO. G. GANTWELL 

ph()T(k;kapher 

Portraits, Commercial Work and Amateur Finishng. 

Full Line of Alaskan Views and Souvenir Postal Cards 
Always on Hand 

STlDKf: Uesprva(i<in Ayr. 



GHAS. GANTY 



Attorney-at-Law 
Collection Agencv 



P.S.HUNT 

Commercial Photographer 

VALDEZ, ALASKA 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSmiL 



"tl'^Hi: 




Edmund SmitK 



ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR 
AT LAW 



Vaidez, Alaska 



SPECIALTY: Mining and Corporation Law 



WHEN IX VALDEZ 
STOP AT THE 

Sciratoga Mouse 

BATHS AND ELECTRIC LIGHT 



ACCOMMODATIONS AND 
FEED FOR DOGS 



FREE USE OF KITCHEN TO MUSHERS 



Opp. Court House on Hobart Street 

J. A. SrEXAHl). Pn,i>. 

VALDEZ ALASKA 



ALASKA WATER. LIGHT 
AND TELEPHONE CO. 

VALDEZ, ALASKA 



E 



Electric Current for Light, Heat, 
Power and numerous other uses. 
Our Telephone Service has come 
to be an absolute necessity in 
Social and Business Life. Long 
distance connection with Swanitz- 
ville, Blummerville, Hazeletville 
and Fort Liscum 

Ai licdsonahJc Rates 



T. G. QUINN, Supt. 



Dail^ and Weekly 

All the news of the world received daily by 
cable. 

All the news of Alaska. General news of 
daily events. Mining news from all parts of the 
territory. Particularly devoted to the districts 
tributary to Valdez, Prince William Sound and 
I he region adjacent to the Valdez-Fairbanks 
trail. 

For Alaska all the time. 



DAGGETT S LEAHY 

Dentists 
\'ALI)EZ. ALASKA 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 




E. 


w. 


GRIFFIN 


G 


enera 


Merchandise 




Largest 


Wholesale House 
in Alaska 


Iditarod 
Chena, 


and 
Alaska 


Sole "Dislributor for ''Biidweiser 
Beer in Alaska 




RAINIER 



Loggers' 

Miners' 

and 

Prospectors' 



SHOES 



Made 

by 

Hand 



Northwestern Shoe Company 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 



M. Seller S Co. 



INC. 



407-417 FIRST AVE. SOUTH 
SEATTLE, WASH. 




JOBBERS AND IMPORTERS 



CROCKERY AND GLASS'WARE 
TIN AND GRANITEWARE 

STOVES AND RANGES 
TOYS AND HOLIDAY' GOODS 
HOTEL, RESTAURANT. BAR 
AND STEAMSHIP SUPPLIES 



72 







THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 



1R^%^^ 




Alaska Coast 
Company 

^^SOUTHWESTERN AL4SKA ROUTE ^^ 
Steamship "Portland" Sails 

ox THE oiH OF EACH MONTH FOR JUNEAU, 
VAKl^TAT, KATAUUA. ELLEMAR, CORDOVA, 
FT. EISCT >r. VAUDEZ, LATOUCIIE. SEWARD. 
.SELDOVIA. FORT (;RAHAM, KODIAK, ETC. 

Steamsliip "Bertha" Sails 

ON THE 201 H OF EACH MONTH J'OR JUNEAl/, 

VAKT TAT. KATAEEA. EEEE>L\R. CORDOVA. 

FT. EISCrT:M, VAI.DEZ. LATOUCHE. .SEWARD. 

SELDOVEV. FORT GRAHAM. ETC. 

CARRYING CNITED STATES MAIL 

SAILINCi.S 

8 F. M IMEH 1. SEATTLE 

TICKET OFFICE.S 

TACO.>E\ 1001 l'.\CIFK A\K. 

SEATTLK (!08 FIItST AN'E. 

SAN FRANCISCO .U .>F\KKET ST. 

R. J. RINGWOOD 

General Freight and Passenger Agent 

SEATTLE 




ITHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSTRAIL 




Valdez Bank & Mercantile Co., Inc. 

Bankers and General Merc/^ants 



THE riOXKKH OTTFITTEKS 



We carry the 
largest stock of 
general merchan- 
dise in this section 
of Alaska. 




Gents Furnishings 
and Outfitting our 

specialty. 

We do a general 
banking business 
in all its branches. 



COPPER BLOCK-Vayez-"Ttie House of Comfort" 



Electric Lights 
Hot Baths 
Steam Heat 






Orr's Stage Office in 
same building. 




Finely Furnished 
Rooms with hot 
and cold water 
throughout 



W4k 



is 



Men Onl' 



H. F. SUKSSDORF, Propiietor 



7 1 



r^s^ 




fir 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 





Bl^inni 





o inm ]p a im y 

(INCORPORAIED) 

amilReirs aiimdl Merclh<ants 




Capitals 



ESTABLISHED 

IN ALASKA 

1898 

VAlLDEEp ALASKA 

WE DO A (.KXKHAL HAXK- 
1X(; AND MERCIIAXDISK 
BUSINESS, BOTH WHOLE- 
SALE AXD RETAIL 



f. G. 5NYDER 



All Kinds of 

General 
Merdiandise 



VALDEZ 




Prospectors 
Supplies 



ALASKA 



75 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 



' -^ */ 

T^' 





V A T K () x I z E 11 () :m E I X d it s t u y 



Valdez Brewings Bottling Go, 



DRAUGHT AND BOTTLED 



BEER 



A- J. WENDLER Pres & Mgr. W. M. WILSON, Vice- Pres. 

J. C. DIERINGER, Sec'y 



r A T R O N 1 Z E II O INI E INDUS T R Y 




^J^^rf-Pf _ ITHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSTRAILl y%^] 




.HHIN A McINTOSH 



RALPH T. Kl'BON 



In the North Since !«»«. Not tlip l.iirKi-xt. but the Best. 
Tweiitj -H\-e Years' Experience in I'reseription W<»rk in Boston. 
New Vorii, Atlin. B. V.. IMiusim. ^■. T.. and I'airbanks. .Ala-sl^a. 
l*nrk«>-i>avi*. Jt ('tini|ian.\ 's i'rrparalinns and [. U. S(|nihb & .Son's 
<'l)enii<-als nsed exrhisnel.t in dispensing. 



No. 63 Cushman Street 



FAIRBANKS 



KNOWN TlllJOl (illOUT .VL.VSK.* 



R. J. Ge 



Chas. L. Thompson 



Fairbanks Buffet 



Cor. Cu.shman and Front St,';. 



FAIRBANKS 



ALASKA 




riloM, 1.; 



C. T. SUTER 



WHOI.IOS.M,]'; 



GROCERIES AND PRODUCE 
HAY AND OATS 



THIRD AVENUE 



FAIRBANKS 



ALASKA 



THE HOUSE OF OUALITY 



I.Ml'OKTKKS or 



STAPLE AND FANCY 

GROCERIES 

ROBERT LAVERY. Prop. 



C ushman Si. and 1 liird A\e. 
FAIRBANKS. ALASKA 



r<'l. phniK' ;:u 



FAIRBANKS. ALASKA 

Xanana Sheet 
Metal Works 

STOVES, FURNACES 
ROOFING 

CORNICE WORK AND SKYLIGHTS. ALL 

KINDS OF TIN. SHEE r IRON 

AND COPPER WORK 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 



TS^tI^ 




KAST CAl-E SI 111: II I A 



Frank H. Nowell, Commercial Photographer 



Phone Main 878. 



SIX T^ITTI.E AKCTIC NATIVES 




■■c.pviiKllt 1!Mj7 by P. II. Nowell 

All Views Taken With Goeiz Lenses 

fiip.\ right r.Hi-l liy |- II .N.nvjll 

Official Photographer Alaska-\ukon-Pacific Exposition 15,000 Negatives of Alaska, Siberia and Yukon 

Territory on file. Mail Orders or Photographic Work promptly attended to in Seattle and Alaska. 

Awarded Three Grand Prizes A.-Y.-P. Exposition 
Commercial Studio: Central Building, Seattle Studio: Nome, Alaska, Next to Post Office. 



European Plan 



Steam Heat 



WHEN IN VALDEZ STOP AT 

THE 

Seattle Hotel 

\\. V s(OI T :iMi1 I. I!. WILSON 

1*i'i>|ii'ieloi-N 

The only first class hotel in city 

HEADQUARTERS FOR MINING MEN 
TRAVELING MEN AND TOURISTS 

Valdez, Alaska 



Pleasant Rooms 



Electric Lights 



s 


orenson s 




Grill 




920 First Avenue 

1 1 1 1 




Best Meal in City for the Money 




Formerly of Nome and Fairbanks 
jl l| 


s 


. Sorenson 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMIL 




Y^ 




MARTIN A. PINSRA 

Successor to 

SARGENT i^ PINSKA 

Clot[iiers, Men's Outfitters 

AGENTS FOR 

Alder-Rochester and Stein-Block 
Clothing, Dunlap and Stetson Hats 
Nettleton and Geo. E. Keith Shoes 



FAIRBANKS 

ALASKA 



TELEPHONE No. 5 



KST.XBI.ISHEn I8!)8 



DAWSON 

Y. T. CANADA 



Post Card Collection 

Is not complete without some of 

Hall's 



ALASKA SCENIC 



Souvenir Postals 



Best Assortment In Alaska 



•;.V TKH l)<>Zi:\ — If KMni for I'nslni;.- 



HALL'S BOOR STORE 



r. ti. itox Nil. :ini 



FAIRBANKS 



ALASKA 



E. R. Peoples 



FAIRBANKS 



Groceries 
Furniture 



Hard 



ware 



1,000 Tons Choice Merchandise on Hand 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANK5MIL 



'TRi^^: 




hi- 




J.H.PftTIEN 



Well 

Furnished 

Rooms 

Steam 
Heat 

Electric 
Lights 



FAIRBANKS 
ALASKA 



Lo Fo PROTZMA 



I'lOAI.RIt IN 



WIHES. ILUQU 
aiadl GROCJES 



3RS 



AGENT FOR 

RIPPON & CO., New York 
ROSENBLATT BROS., San Francisco 



Simrklinu Hiiit;ni)(l> 

Alunn an<l \\'hUe Seal < hainpiiKiicN 

ANtta Colony Clnrets 

Biidweis'^r Hetr 

All KuuIm <it t.if]ii(>rs 

Hitcii <iradf Ci^^ars 



HOTEL NORDALE BLOCK, FAIRBANKS 



At the Sign of the Wolf 

Suits Repaired, Cleaned and Pressed 
Furs Cleaned and Repaired 

^ WOLFE, THE TAILOR^ 



J. E. MOODY 

PRACIICAL 
CARRIAGE AND SLEIGH BUILDER 




Cor. Noble and Front Streets Fairbanks, Alaska 



At ttie Sign of the Blue Light 



Billiards --Pool 

CIGARS, TOBACCO AND CANDIES 

PARIS & MORGAN. Props. 



80 




ITHEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSMILI y^^ 




Sturm. Mayer & Brandegee, Kincaid 
Clothing. 

Columbus, duett and McDonald 
Shirts. 

AGENT FOR 

Dr. Jaeger's Shirts, Underwear and 

Hosiery. 

Knapp, Pelt de Luxe and Stetson 
Hats. 

Johnston and Murphy Shoes. 

FUR COATS FUR ROBES 




INTERIOR OF SALESROOM. 



CO.MP LETE LINE OF MACKINAWS, OVERALLS, SOCKS, MITTS, RUBBERS. MOCCASINS. 

Etc., Etc. 

THORNTON 8 TAGRSTROM 



FRONT STREET 



FAIRBANKS 



I-IIONK i»\ 



i: o. BOX ■;:ii 



OFFICE— OPPOSITE T. V. R. R. DEPOT 
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 

®aimna Assay ®ffirr 

L. M. DRURY. Manager 



.\SSAVKKS OK UltH X.Ni. I.I 1 I. ION— 
WOUKIXO TKiSTS nV .VMAI.O.VMATIO.N. 
CONfENTH.VTTON .\Nt) CV.VXIDING. 
ItlUKKS OP ril,A<!K SAND AND PI^ATKR 
fONrK\Ti;ATBS UV PBRCENTAr.E OR 
.«AMPI.R. 



MINE SAMPLING-EXAMINATIONS MADE 




ANDERSON BROS. & NERLAND Fairbanks, Alaska 

DealiT.H in CI.A.-^S. liooHS, WI.NDow.-;. l>AI.\T.-i ANI> WALL 

I'APER. INTERIOR KlRNl.-ill IN<!S. CARPETS. RIT.S. LLVO- 

LEIMS. WINPOW .<II \I«ES .\.VD PICTrKE.'! 



SI 



^i#, ^ff J ' THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAlI 








VI 



9 



ROADHOUSE AXD GENERAL SUPPLIES 
FOR TRAVELERS AXU PROSPECTORS 



SITUATED UPON A BEAUTIFUL SITE AMONG THE HILLS. ROOMS FOR 50 PEOPLE. 

2750 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL. YOU WILL BE WELL FED HERE. 

190 MILES FROM FAIRBANKS. FRESH VEGETABLES ENTIRE WINTER. 

1 74 MILES FROM VALDEZ. BARNS FOR 40 HEAD OF STOCK. 




FOprieftor 



Every 'ri-a\ck'i- who liu.s hecn over tlie 
\";!l(lc/-l''airl);inks Trail knows 

SULLIVAN'S 

The Big Comfortable 
Roadhouse 



ON THE DRY DELTA 

27H Milfs I'ri)m Valdez. 
KC) Mik's Troiii Fairbanks. 
4..*J Miles I'rom Salcliaket. 



J. E. SULLIVAN AND WIFE 

Proprietors 



SOURDOUGH 

All tlie Old Travelers know tlie place. 

They lia\e always been eonit'ortable and 
\\v\l ted here. 



Has just been remodeled. 

•2-i Miles From Culkana. 

'22 ^liles From Meiers 



ORR AND KENNEDY STATION 

Mtirh' it (III jidiir Time Tabic for (in 
ovcr-iiighi stop. 



MRS. N. YAGER, Proprietor 



S2 




THEVALDEZ-FAIRBANKSmiLi ; 




Stop at the 

COPPER CENTER HOTEL 

On Your Way To and From Fairbanks 



Warmest house on the TraiL Just 
rebuilt. We are situated upon the 
main government trail. When com- 
ing from Valdez watch for the sign 
at the Copper Center Telegraph 
Station. Keep straight ahead and 
save one mile 

Meals and Lunches at All Hours 

Spring Beds 



If You Have Not Been Over the Trail Before 
Ask the Traveling Public. ''They Know' 



John McCrary Sc Sons 



p?^ 




-<>' 



pf^ 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 



■* ^ m 

y%' 












ASK THE TRAVELERS ABOUT 

PAXSON'S 

\ J PAXSON, Pn.p 

\'.\L1)K/ i;»() MILKS FAIHHAXKS 174 MILKS 
Valdez-Fairbanks Trail— South Side Delta Divide 




PAXSON'S ROADHOUSE A MODERN HOTEL 









la^WASHBDRN HOUSE 



: Carrie Stoner, Prop. 







BEST 

ROADHOUSE 

ON 

VALDEZ 

TRAIL 







THIRD 

STAGE 

STATION 

FROM 

FAIRBANKS 



\v ASH n V R X. a l a s k a 

(Little Delta) 



1 1 

Beaver Dam Roadliouse 




41 Miles From Valdez 




Very Comfoilable 
Care for 50 Guests 

Orr Stage Station 

Warm Stables for 
35 Head of Stock 


You^l Like Our Meals 


Nels Jepson, Propriel 


tor 



84 




THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TliML 



^H 




'•T 



GULKANA ROADHOUSE 

C. L. Hoyt, Prop. 



Largest and Best Equipped Hotel Between 
Valdez and Fairbanks 

Trading Post in Connection 

Miners' Supplies 
Furs Bought and Sold 

This is the Junction of the Eagle, Susitna and 
Valdez-Fairbanks frails 



POST OFFICE AND TELEGRAPH STATION 



Gordon's Roadhouse 

103 Miles from Fairbanks. 
261 Miles from Valdez. 



Newly Refitted Throughout 

Special Attention Given to 
the Table 



Surrounding Country Abounds in Bi)^ Game 





Donnelly^s 
Roadhouse 

Junction of \''aldez and Richardson Trails 

1 1 9 Miles from Fairbanks 

Open Entire Year 

In the Heart of the Greatest Game Section in Alaska 
Headquarters for Hunters 
Guides Always Available 






r^ vy^r^F r irvrrn m i r»r n i 




h\i ihlJihV 1 lARFli ii ii 


1 1 ri \r y^^ i^ r f i^ Tk.i m r* w^ rv c^ 


i'==^i EXCELLENT BEDS 




Telephone Connections with Telegraph Station for 
Convenience of Travelers 

H. E. Shanklin 

Proprietor 





Dry 


Creek Roadhouse 




1 6 Miles from Gulkana 

10 Miles from Copper Center 


CI 


AccommodatioRs for -15 People. 
Good Warm Stables. 
■ Fresh Milk and Chickens. 
Fine Garden in Summer. ^ 
Green Vegetables Served all V inter. 




First Hpuse Going South 
and Last House Going 
North where you can 
secure meals at $1.00. 


J. Lawrence S Wife, Proprietors 



ALASKA PHOTO VIEW CO. 

DEVELOPING AND PRINTING 

AMATEUR WORK 

AGENT FOR EASTMAN KODAKS 

AND SUPPLIES 



MRS. L. E. ROBERTSON 



FAIRBANKS 




■fir 



THE VALDEZ-FAIRBANKS TRAIL 



n 017 297 494 6 






61 



acier 



B 



ouse 



•J".t4' Miles ri'Diii l'';iirl);niks 
70 Miles from N'aldez 



Can .\(nimiiii)(late 50 I'cople 

Special Apartinciits for Ladies 



Stal)k' Kooni for 24 Horses 
Dog Houses 

Meals (iiul Lunches (it All IJoiir.s 



J. L. BRAXTON, Proprietor 



The Wayside 
Inn 

88 INIiles from \^aldez 
•280 JNliles from Fairbanks 

EkTMKKX TOXSIXA AM) C'olM'KR CkXTKK 

irariii Mcfil.s (il All Hours 



Paul Hansel and the Rids 

PROPRIETORS 



Our Home 



That means for Kverylnxly who travels 
this way. 

i'onrsrlvi's riiuJ Your Jlorscs tiiul I)o(/s 
Miidc Coinforfdble. 

21 Miles from Paxson's. 
.'JS Miles from (rulkana 



MRS. M. M. BIRCH, Prop. 











Yost's 




^'ou can see the Light from the River 

1 56 Miles from Fairbanks 
208 Miles from Valdez. 

McCLALLUM TELEGRAPH STATION 

Under New Management 

Not Style— But Well Cooked 
Food and Comfortable Quarters 
Our Specialty. 





THE 


WIGWAM 


FOR 


FAIRBANKS 
THE LATEST DOPE 


HARRY PHILIPS Proprietor 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



017 297 494 6 ( 



! i k: 



